First cases of coronavirus in McPherson, Harvey, Ottawa, Gove Counties
Posted Mar 26, 2020 11:11 PM
On Thursday evening, officials received notice of the first presumptive positive case of novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, in Harvey County, according to the Health Department. Ottawa and Gove Counties also reported their first confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The case in Harvey County is man in his 20s. He is currently in home isolation. The case in Quinter involves a young, healthy woman with out-of-state travel, according to the Gove Co. Health Department.
The patient in McPherson County is a woman in her 70s who had been on a cruise. She is isolating at home, according to the health department.
Health Department officials have already begun working with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to monitor these individual and follow up on contacts.
Health officials say one way to stop the spread of the new coronavirus is to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service
The new coronavirus is spreading quickly around the world, including across Kansas, and setting off a range of responses.
The
Kansas News Service is boiling down key developments in the state and
updating the status regularly here. To read this information in Spanish,
go here. This list was last updated at 2:10 p.m. March 31.
CASES AND DEATHS
430 cases, including two from out of state (see map for counties)
9 deaths (4 in Wyandotte County, 3 in Johnson County, 1 each in Sedgwick and Crawford counties)
NOTE: These figures only
include cases confirmed with lab tests and do not represent the real,
unknown total. Community transmission is occurring in parts of Kansas.
STATEWIDE ORDER TO STAY HOME
Gov. Laura Kelly
is instituting a statewide stay-at-home order as of 12:01 a.m. March
30. It will last until at least April 19. Stay-at-home orders allow
people to take care of essential activities (such as grocery shopping or
going to work) as well as exercise outside, but otherwise keep to
themselves.
The state’s stay-at-home order supersedes at least
13 county-by-county orders. Should the state’s order lift before a
county’s is through, the county can choose to keep its own in effect.
SHOULD I SELF-QUARANTINE?
For the whole state: The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is now mandating home
quarantine for 14 days if you've traveled to the places listed below.
If you come down with symptoms (such as a fever of 100.4 degrees or
higher, coughing or shortness of breath) during those 14 days, contact
your health care provider and explain your potential COVID-19
exposure.
Louisiana or anywhere in Colorado on or after March 27.
States with known widespread community transmission (California, Florida, New York and Washington) on or after March 15.
Illinois or New Jersey on or after March 23.
Eagle, Summit, Pitkin and Gunnison counties in Colorado (if your visit was March 8th or later).
Cruise
ships or river cruises on or after March 15. Anyone previously told to
quarantine because of their cruise ship travel should also finish out
their quarantine.
International destinations on or after March
15. Anyone previously told to quarantine because of their international
travel should also finish out their quarantine.
TESTING AVAILABILITY
As
of March 27, Kansas health secretary Lee Norman said the state lab was
handling 175 samples a day. But Kansas will receive more equipment
within about a week that will let it handle 700 to 1,000 samples daily,
though shortages of specialized supplies such as nose swabs may still hamper work at times.
Norman
said there’s enough capacity in the state, now that testing has ramped
up through commercial labs and hospitals. State testing is reserved for
high-risk groups, such as sick nursing home residents and health care
workers. Others can ask their doctor or nurse practitioner to order
through private labs.
What Kansas still lacks is enough testing material to study COVID-19 rates among people without symptoms.
KANSAS HAS DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
It
gives the state government more power to marshal resources and triggers
the state's response plan. The state Legislature has extended Kelly's
declaration through May (and can extend it), with the aim of giving her
the ability to make certain decisions when lawmakers aren’t in session.
On March 22, Kelly eased state rules
to expand the use of telemedicine, to temporarily license more health
workers and to allow heavier trucks on Kansas highways hauling relief
supplies. On March 23, she ordered a ban on evictions if a tenant was
unable to pay because of the coronavirus crisis. And she extended the
income tax filing deadline to July 15, in line with a delay for filing
federal tax forms.
HOW ARE UNIVERSITIES RESPONDING?
K-State,
University of Kansas and Wichita State: All of them will go fully
online for the end of the school year. Students at K-State and KU will
need special exemptions to remain in dorms.
Other colleges:
Washburn and Fort Hays State are online. Newman University expanded
spring break for two weeks (March 14 to March 29). Johnson County
Community College will close campus from March 14-29, and all courses
will restart online March 30. Pittsburg State started break a day early
and will resume classes indefinitely online on March 30.
HOW ABOUT K-12 SCHOOLS?
Gov.
Laura Kelly and Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson have shut
down all K-12 schools, public, private and parochial, for the rest of
the 2019-20 school year. They had initially issued a strong
recommendation that schools close March 16 through 20.
Some county health departments had already issued similar orders.
A Kansas State Department of Education task force has issued guidance to school districts on how to continue some amount of student learning.
WHAT’S BEEN CANCELED OR SUSPENDED?
The
governor’s executive order temporarily banning landlords from evicting
businesses or residential tenants is effective until May 1. That same
order put in a moratorium on any mortgage foreclosures through the same
period.
The governor mandated on March 23, through an executive order, that gatherings be restricted to less than 10 people.
Kansas state workers: Access
to the Statehouse is limited to official business only, and lawmakers
went on break early. Kelly wanted most state employees to stay home for
at least two weeks starting March 23.
State prisons: The
Kansas Department of Corrections ended visitation at all state
facilities, and will “re-evaluate on an ongoing basis.” It urges
families to talk to inmates through email, phone calls and video
visits.
Electric companies: Evergy, which serves
950,000 customers in Kansas, will not disconnect residential or business
services for an unspecified amount of time due to the “unprecedented
challenge” of coronavirus that “may result in customers facing
unexpected or unusual financial strain.”
Casinos: All four state-owned gaming facilities will close at the end of business on March 17, and remain so until at least March 30.
Public events: Many events and public places around the state have been canceled until at least the end of March.
Sports: The
Kansas State High School Athletics Association canceled the state
basketball tournament midway through it. And the Big 12 suspended spring
sports until March 29.
HOW BAD IS THE VIRUS?
COVID-19
usually causes mild to moderate symptoms, like a fever or cough. Most
people with mild symptoms recover in two weeks. More severe cases, found
in older adults and people with health issues, can have up to six
weeks’ recovery time or can lead to death.
The
Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio,
KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social
determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
