COVID-19

Kansas Strengthens Its Response To Coronavirus, 'Strongly Recommends' Schools Close For A Week

By • Mar 15, 2020

Kansas state officials “strongly recommended” on Sunday that all K-12 schools close for the coming week, and said they’re looking at the potential of finishing the school year online.

The temporary closure will “give educators time to make plans for the safest learning environment possible,” Gov. Laura Kelly said during a news conference, though she acknowledged it’ll be difficult to feed students and provide child care. 

COVID-19 Cases In Kansas Continue To Climb

By • Mar 14, 2020
flickr/Creative Commons

Kansas health officials on Saturday confirmed the state's latest cases of people who tested positive for COVID-19.

The latest case, the eighth, was in a person from Franklin County. No details about the person were released. Franklin is directly south of Douglas County.

The news followed an announcement by the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment on Saturday morning of the state's seventh case — a woman in her 50s associated with Johnson County Community College. That case is the region's first thought to have been contracted locally, the release said.

COVID-19 Case Identified In Butler County; Sedgwick County Bans Large Gatherings

By & • Mar 13, 2020
Nicole Grimes, KMUW

A Butler County man in his 70s is now the sixth confirmed case of COVID-19 in Kansas.

That news came Friday morning, shortly before Sedgwick County announced it was banning gatherings larger than 250 people.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Friday it confirmed the latest COVID-19 case using its own lab, but has also sent samples to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for verification. KDHE said it is treating the case as positive unless testing finds otherwise.

Kansas' First Death From Coronavirus Is In Wyandotte County

By • Mar 12, 2020

TOPEKA, Kansas — A man in his 70s who lived in a long-term care facility in Wyandotte County is the first known death from the new coronavirus in Kansas, state officials said Thursday night. The man was not among the state’s official count of cases, which had risen to four earlier in the day. 

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly also has declared a state of emergency, which gives the government more power to marshal resources and triggers the state's response plan.

Wichita State To Start Spring Break Early, Move To Online Classes Because Of Coronavirus

By • Mar 12, 2020
David Garcia, KMUW

Wichita State University is extending spring break due to concerns over the coronavirus.

Students at WSU were scheduled to start spring break March 23. The university announced Thursday that all in-person academic instruction will be canceled next week, beginning Monday.

All activities related to in-person classes — such as assignments, presentations and lab work — will be suspended for the week.

Hybrid classes — which meet in-person and online — will shift to online only classes. Fully online classes, however, will continue next week.

Wyandotte County Man Dies Of Coronavirus, 3 New Cases Reported In Johnson County

By & • Mar 12, 2020

Update: 7:30 p.m.

A 70-year-old man who lived in a long-term care facility in Wyandotte County is the first known death from the new coronavirus in Kansas, state officials said Thursday night.

Kansas also has declared a state of emergency, which gives the government more power to marshal resources and triggers the state's response plan.

Democracy On Tap: COVID-19

Vanessa Segura / KMUW

On Tuesday, March 10, Democracy on Tap convened with a panel of experts at Roxy's Downtown to address your questions and concerns about coronavirus. Our panelists were: 

Here is the video of the conversation that we streamed live via Facebook:

No Guarantee You'll Get Tested For COVID-19, Even If Your Doctor Requests It

By • Mar 11, 2020

In the face of mixed messages and confusion about who can or should be tested for the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted updated guidance for doctors on Sunday about when to test a patient.

The short answer is, if your doctor thinks a test is appropriate, he or she can request the test. But a request doesn't guarantee that you'll get one.

Confused? You're not alone.

Now Limited To KDHE, Coronavirus Testing Could Expand To Local Health Providers

By & • Mar 9, 2020
File / U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Wikipedia

Testing for the coronavirus in Kansas has so far been done at the state level, but health leaders say that could change in a few weeks.

The First Coronavirus Patient In Kansas Has Been Admitted To KU Hospital, Is 'Doing Well'

By • Mar 9, 2020

Update: 2:30 p.m. Monday 

Kansas’ single confirmed coronavirus patient has been admitted to the University of Kansas Health Systems hospital.

The Johnson County woman, who was announced to have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus on Saturday, was admitted to the Kansas City, Kansas, hospital after self-isolating at home.

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