Wyandotte County positive COVID-19 cases increased by 57 on Thursday morning, from 617 on Wednesday to 674 on Thursday. There was no change in the total of deaths, 55.
At 6:30 p.m. today, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is expected to announce a plan for reopening Kansas. This speech is expected to be carried on television and also on the governor’s Facebook page.
The Kansas stay-at-home order is set to expire on May 4, and can be ended or extended. Local governments may put their own plans in place. Wyandotte County has a task force studying reopening society. The UG Commission plans to have a COVID-19 update at 5 p.m. today.
Another testing site today in Wyandotte County
COVID-19 testing in Wyandotte County is being ramped up this week. Another pop-up test site was announced from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 30, at the Franklin Center, 1405 Metropolitan Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, through Swope Health.
There also will be a pop-up test site from 3 to 6 p.m. at Thursday Salem Baptist Church, 1824 N. 11th, Kansas City, Kansas. For registration for the Salem Baptist test site, call 913-371-9298. This test site was through Vibrant Health.
Regular COVID-19 testing continues at the UG Health Department parking lot, from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. No appointments are needed and tests are free; however, to get a test, Wyandotte County residents must have experienced a symptom or symptoms within the past 48 hours. Residents may call ahead to 311 or can report symptoms online to wycokck.org/COVID-19, with the Health Department following up to set up a test appointment or provide guidance.
KU doctors: Don’t bend the curve back
The University of Kansas Health System reported 17 positive COVID-19 patients in the hospital, with nine in the intensive care unit, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at the KU Health System. The hospital has seen some discharges, he added.
KU doctors said at a news conference on Thursday morning that the number of hospital patients and critically ill patients there continues to decline. They believe people in the community have bent the curve, and they congratulated them.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at KU Health System, said KU Health System peaked at 40 patients in the hospital with COVID-19.
He said coronavirus is still out there, and outbreaks at nursing homes and meatpacking plants are sending a message that being around a lot of people and not maintaining distance is putting yourself and others at risk. Shelter in place has done a remarkable job in the Kansas City area, he said. This area also had the advantage of being less dense than New York, without subways, crowded streets and buildings.
He said, from a public health perspective, they are pleased with how well the health care community has responded and also how well the community has responded.
Dr. Hawkinson said physical distancing is the new normal.
“We have to act like this is going to be here,” he said.
While they understand things need to get back to a normal way of life, he said people need to continue to do the things that have worked, as a second wave may be possible.
Places that are crowded, with a lot of people, and where people are close to each other, are not safe, he said.
Dr. Sean Kumer, vice president of perioperative and procedural services at KU Health System, said the hospital now has started to do more procedures. They canceled or postponed more than 3,000 cases last month, and are now having conversations about how to open up the operating rooms, he said.
He said procedures have been implemented, including checking temperatures, limiting visitors and testing patients who will have surgery, so that the hospital is safe.
The hospital has changed air pressure in rooms in the operating area, and made other adjustments for safety, according to the doctors.
The doctors continued to emphasize individual responsibility, social distancing, staying home when sick, good hand-washing and other hygiene practices.
“You’ve bent the curve, don’t bend it back,” Dr. Stites said. “The thing that is going to keep you safe is common sense.”
The coronavirus is still there, and people need to do the right thing, he added.
To see the KU doctors’ news conference, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/564238550871228/.
The UG’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
The Kansas COVID-19 website is at https://covid.ks.gov/.
The Kansas COVID-19 resource page is at https://govstatus.egov.com/coronavirus
Information from the CDC is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/.