The Kansas City metro has emerged from stay-at-home orders and local leaders have started to reopen businesses after weeks of shutdown from the coronavirus. What you need to know:The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday the state has 11,681 cases confirmed cases of COVID-19 and there have been 247 deaths since the outbreak started. Kansas is now only updating COVID-19 data on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Tuesday 882 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in the state and there are 16,414 confirmed cases since the outbreak started.WEDNESDAY3:30 p.m. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Wednesday it has added three states to the quarantine list – Alabama, Arizona and Arkansas. Additionally, the KDHE said it removed six states from the list: Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. READ MORE2:30 p.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 211 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 16,625 since the start of the outbreak. There have now been 909 deaths across Missouri from COVID-19, which is up 27 from Tuesday.State health officials said that increased testing will be reflected in the numbers. Additionally, some counties are catching up on reporting and case and death numbers will sometimes see big increases.[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]The state said it has tested a total of 284,791 people through PCR testing – a test that looks for the virus in the nose, throat or other areas of the respiratory tract to determine if there is an active infection – and 5.7% of those were positive. The state said it has tested 34,945 through serology testing – a test that looks for antibodies in the blood – and 3.7% of those were positive.The DHSS reports 1,802 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kansas City, Missouri, which is up 40 from Tuesday. Jackson County saw an increase of 27 cases on Wednesday to reach the 916 mark. Health officials said there have been 30 deaths in Kansas City, and Jackson County reports 22 total.The state also lists 301 (+2) total cases in Clay County (outside of Kansas City), 99 (+0) in Platte and 109 in Cass County.12:30 p.m. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported an increase of 262 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in its first update since Monday to push the statewide total to 11,681 since the outbreak started. DHE officials said the death total climbed by two to 247 on Wednesday. Health officials said 1,011 patients have been hospitalized since the start of the outbreak. The state said it has tested 141,888 people with 130,443 negative test results, an overall percent positive test rate of 8.2%, and it is testing 48.70 per 1,000 people in Kansas.[ KANSAS COVID-19 COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]State health officials warned earlier we should see higher confirmed cases of COVID-19 as more testing becomes available, some counties catch up in reporting and more cases from correctional facilities and meatpacking plants are reported.Ford County in southwestern Kansas has the most confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak at 1,897, followed by Wyandotte County with 1,793 cases since the outbreak started. Johnson County reports 1,139 cases, and Leavenworth County – home to Lansing Correctional Facility – has 1,118 cases.Health officials said the median age of people with COVID-19 is 40, and they are monitoring 89 active clusters, including 41 active clusters within private industry.11:15 a.m. — According to a report, the coronavirus is starting to take a toll on the Kansas State football team. One day after K-State athletics announced two student-athletes tested positive for COVID-19, the Manhattan Mercury reported that four more football players have tested positive for the virus. READ MORE9 a.m. — A new study shows that children under the age of 10 are essentially safe from COVID-19. Kansas City Health Director Dr. Rex Archer said the study means elementary schools could look more traditional in the fall – especially if children get shots to prevent the flu. READ MORE8:30 a.m. — The state of Kansas isn’t officially listing the number of people that have recovered from COVID-19, but local health departments across the state are keeping track. According to numbers from Wednesday morning, 6,791 people have recovered from the coronavirus, which means more than 59% of the people that have caught COVID-19 in Kansas are now listed as recovered. Leavenworth County reported 1,083 recoveries, Johnson County 647, Wyandotte County 564 and Douglas County 75.8 a.m. — Wyandotte County is reporting 1,704 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started with 13 patients currently hospitalized. The new cases were an increase of 13 from Tuesday. The county said 76 people have died from the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak and 564 people are presumed recovered. The 66102 ZIP code is the most impacted area of the county with 454 (+3) cases, followed by the 66104 ZIP code with 296 (+4) and 66112 with 270.7:35 a.m. — State officials on Tuesday said they’re reinstating requirements for unemployment and food stamps that were waived because of the coronavirus pandemic. Anna Hui, director of the state’s labor department, said workers will need to comply with job search requirements to keep getting unemployment after July 4. READ MORE7 a.m. — Johnson County reported Wednesday morning 1,105 positive cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started, which is up 25 from Tuesday. The county said it has 647 presumed recoveries – up seven from Tuesday. It also has tested 30,023 people with 28,918 negative tests for an overall positive test rate of 3.7%. The county said it has tested 49.8 people per 1,000 in the county. Johnson County said it now monitoring 11 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, which is up one from Tuesday. The most recent facility with onset of cases is at Garden Terrace at Overland Park, which has 34 cases, eight deaths and it’s been five days since the last onset date.TUESDAY4:15 p.m. — Officials with Kansas City’s Saint Luke’s Health System say the system is now facing budget cuts and furloughs for some employees as it works to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Hospital officials said from the start of the pandemic, hospital staff worked to stock up on supplies and ensure resources were available to treat patients in need. READ MORE4 p.m. — Health officials in Wyandotte County are concerned about increasing cases of COVID-19 and indicated that a spike could push the county back into a more restrictive phase. Wyandotte County is reporting 1,687 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started with 13 patients currently hospitalized. The new cases were an increase of 10 from Monday. The county has seen double-digit increase of cases since June 8. READ MORE3:30 p.m. — Officials with the Kansas State University Athletics Department said two K-State athletes have tested positive for COVID-19. While the university did not say which sport the athletes played, university Athletic Director Gene Taylor said they were prepared for positive tests based on what other college football departments are seeing. 2:30 p.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 225 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 16,414 since the start of the outbreak. There have now been 882 deaths across Missouri from COVID-19, which is up two from Monday.State health officials said that increased testing will be reflected in the numbers. Additionally, some counties are catching up on reporting.[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]The state said it has tested a total of 279,941 people through PCR testing — a test that looks for the virus in the nose, throat or other areas of the respiratory tract to determine if there is an active infection — and 5.7% of those were positive. The state said it has tested 34,415 through serology testing — a test that looks for antibodies in the blood — and 3.7% of those were positive.The DHSS reports 1,762 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kansas City, Missouri, which is up 25 from Monday. Jackson County saw an increase of 24 cases on Tuesday to reach the 889 mark. Health officials said there have been 29 deaths in Kansas City, and Jackson County reports 22 total.The state also lists 299 (+6) total cases in Clay County (outside of Kansas City), 99 (+1) in Platte and 115 (+1) in Cass County.Noon — The coronavirus is spreading beyond Missouri’s largest cities, fueled in part by outbreaks in meat packing plants and nursing homes.The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the share of cases coming from rural areas now accounts for about 30% of the state’s new cases – a greater portion than ever before. The seven-day average of daily new cases in areas of the state beyond the St. Louis and Kansas City metro regions, has generally been under 50. But since the middle of May, a gradual climb has pushed the pace to about 65 new cases a day. “There’s been this long-running perception that coronavirus is an urban phenomenon,” said Chris Prener, a sociologist at St. Louis University who closely tracks Missouri coronavirus trends. “It’s definitely an ongoing issue for rural areas.”The per-capita rate of infections has leapt more than tenfold over the past month in Sullivan County, near the Iowa border, where a giant pork processing plant dominates the local economy, and employees have voiced concern about vulnerability to the virus.Meanwhile, the St. Louis area – the state’s coronavirus epicenter for much of the outbreak – has seen new cases fall as the Kansas City region is getting hit significantly harder than ever.11:45 a.m. — Based on current data and guidelines from the CDC, Truman State University announced that it plans to resume in-person instruction when the fall semester begins Aug. 17.“Due to the ever-changing circumstances relating to COVID-19, the university is trying to maintain as much flexibility as possible and will make any necessary adjustments as needed,” the school said on its website .10:15 a.m. — If you live or work in Clay County, you should know about some reopening changes that start Tuesday. All businesses and organizations can now let in up to half their listed capacities. That includes public and neighborhood pools, along with venues for weddings and funerals. Gatherings up to 250 people are now allowed with social distancing.10 a.m. — The state of Missouri is back open after statewide shutdown orders were removed. Missouri was able to move to Phase 2 of its recovery plan because Gov. Mike Parson said the state expanded testing and expanded reserves of personal protective equipment. Parson also said the state is watching the capacities at hospitals and health-care systems and health officials now have better ability to predict potential outbreaks.Even with the move to relax restrictions, some city and county restrictions are still in place, including in Kansas City.While all businesses are cleared to open in Kansas City, they must keep the number of people on their property to 50% capacity or less. Restaurants must continue arranging tables and booths for social distancing.9 a.m. — The state of Kansas isn’t officially listing the number of people that have recovered from COVID-19, but local health departments across the state are keeping track. According to numbers from Monday morning, 6,635 people have recovered from the coronavirus, which means more than 58% of the people that have caught COVID-19 in Kansas are now listed as recovered. Leavenworth County reported 1,083 recoveries, Johnson County 640, Wyandotte County 527 and Douglas County 72.8 a.m. — Wyandotte County is reporting 1,687 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started with 13 patients currently hospitalized. The new cases were an increase of 10 from Monday. The county said 76 people have died from the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak and 527 people are presumed recovered. The 66102 ZIP code is the most impacted area of the county with 451 (+4) cases, followed by the 66104 ZIP code with 292 (+1) and 66109 with 197.7 a.m. — Johnson County reported Tuesday morning 1,080 positive cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started, which is up five from Monday. The county said it has 640 presumed recoveries – up seven from Monday. It also has tested 29,084 people with 28,004 negative tests for an overall positive test rate of 3.7%. The county said it has tested 48.3 people per 1,000 in the county. Johnson County said it continues to monitor 10 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, including the most recent outbreaks at Villa St. Francis, Overland Park Center for Rehabilitation and Garden Terrace at Overland Park.[ CLICK HERE FOR MAPS OF COVID-19 CASES BY COUNTY IN KANSAS & MISSOURI ][ TRACKING COVID-19 CURVE OF CASES, DEATHS IN KANSAS & MISSOURI ]MONDAY7:30 p.m. — Sedgwick County was among 13 counties that has seen an uptick in cases since last week, Gov. Laura Kelly said at a Monday news conference. Sedgwick County’s COVID-19 website shows a 19 more people in the county have tested positive, for a total of 764. Of those, 240 are active.Kelly said the increase “is not a coincidence” and that local government officials in Sedgwick County opted to make all social distancing guidelines optional after state stay-at-home orders were lifted.“If we do not treat this threat seriously, more lives will be lost. It will halt the reopening of our economy and prevent our children from returning to school,” Kelly said.5:30 p.m. – Lawrence, Kansas, announced its first COVID-19 outbreak. Four people were infected at the same business. The health department says it is not identifying the business – due to patient privacy restrictions. The business was following proper guidelines for social distancing.5 p.m. — Clay County, Missouri, will move into the second phase of its recovery plan, and health officials reminded people what the new phase will allow:• All business and organizations, occupancy restrictions are relaxed to 50% of the entity’s authorized building/fire code occupancy.• Gatherings including but not limited to, religious services, weddings, funerals of 50% of listed occupancy may continue provided physical distancing is maintained.• Relaxing the maximum allowable attendance at mass gatherings to 250 provided physical distancing is maintained.• Public/neighborhood association pools are limited to 50% of the bather load within the pool enclosure.2:45 p.m. — The Jackson County Health Department said it is currently monitoring seven outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, including a recent outbreak at the Independence Manor Care Center.The county reports that Independence Manor Care Center has 39 confirmed cases of COVID-19, which makes it the second-largest outbreak in the county behind Lee’s Summit Pointe Health and Rehabilitation with 54.Overall, the county said there have been 181 cases from the ongoing outbreak locations and 10 deaths linked to the locations.“We are clearly seeing the second wave of COVID-19 in the Kansas City metro area, and it is vital that our residents, particularly those in the vulnerable populations, take steps to protect themselves and their families from this disease,” Independence Mayor Eileen Weir said. “The deaths associated with COVID-19 in Jackson County continue to rise. Residents are strongly encouraged to wear a cloth face covering when in public, regularly wash your hands for 20 seconds and, if possible, avoid travel outside of essential business. This is a disease that spreads quickly because many of us will never know if we have it, but it takes all of us to keep our friends, family and neighbors safe.”The first case was identified at the Independence Manor last week with the remaining 38 cases came back positive over the weekend. The city of Independence is working in collaboration with the Jackson County Health Department and the Missouri State Department of Health and Senior Services to ensure the facility has the tools and resources they need to protect all residents and staff.“Upon notification that an employee had tested positive for the virus, we immediately tested all our residents and staff,” Corporate Nurse Kristi Mansour said. “We are doing everything we can to ensure we stop the spread of this within our facility. We continue to be in close communication with local and state health officials to ensure we are taking the appropriate steps at this time.”2:30 p.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 206 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, bringing the statewide total to 16,189 since the start of the outbreak. There have now been 880 deaths across Missouri from COVID-19, which is up one from Sunday.State health officials said that increased testing will be reflected in the numbers. Additionally, some counties are catching up on reporting.[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]The state said it has tested a total of 279,461 people through PCR testing — a test that looks for the virus in the nose, throat or other areas of the respiratory tract to determine if there is an active infection — and 5.7% of those were positive. The state said it has tested 34,415 through serology testing — a test that looks for antibodies in the blood — and 3.7% of those were positive.The DHSS reports 1,737 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kansas City, Missouri, and 865 cases in eastern Jackson County. Health officials said there have been 29 deaths in Kansas City, and Jackson County reports 22 total.The state also lists 293 total cases in Clay County (outside of Kansas City), 98 in Platte and 114 in Cass County.2:15 p.m. — The University of Kansas announced its plan for a return to campus for the fall semester at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses. KU Chancellor Doug Girod announced in an email to students, staff and faculty that classes will begin as planned on Aug. 24, and classes will conclude before Thanksgiving, at which point students will be encouraged to leave campus for the semester. READ MORE1:45 p.m. — The head of the Kansas City’s health department is worried about a spike in confirmed cases of the coronavirus. KCUR reported that the rate of new cases has increased every week since May 10, reaching an average of 52 new cases reported per day for the week that ended Friday.“We are on a rise of a second wave,” Kansas City Health Department Director Dr. Rex Archer said on KCUR on Friday.The health department said in a statement this week that the rise in confirmed cases is because of increased testing as well as new outbreaks. State data shows that Kansas City now has 1,690 confirmed cases. The city has reported 29 deaths from COVID-19.Missouri’s statewide order requiring 6-foot social distancing, limiting capacity in stores and banning visits to nursing homes expires after Monday, although it’s unclear if health officials have done much to enforce it since it took effect June 1.1:30 p.m. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported an increase of 372 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in its first update since Friday to push the statewide total to 11,419 since the outbreak started. DHE officials said the death total climbed by two to 245 on Wednesday. Health officials said 988 patients have been hospitalized since the start of the outbreak. The state said it has tested 136,741 people with 125,543 negative test results, an overall percent positive test rate of 8.4%, and it is testing 46.94 per 1,000 people in Kansas. [ KANSAS COVID-19 COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]State health officials warned earlier we should see higher confirmed cases of COVID-19 as more testing becomes available, some counties catch up in reporting and more cases from correctional facilities and meatpacking plants are reported.Ford County in southwestern Kansas has the most confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak at 1,882, followed by Wyandotte County with 1,736 cases since the outbreak started. Leavenworth County – home to Lansing Correctional Facility – has 1,100 cases, and Johnson County reports 1,106 cases.1:15 p.m. — Officials with John Knox Village in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, said multiple employees who work at the campus Village Care Center have tested positive for COVID-19. A release from John Knox says five new employees at the facility’s care center have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the facility’s total number of positive cases to nine. READ MORE9 a.m. — The state of Kansas isn’t officially listing the number of people that have recovered from COVID-19, but local health departments across the state are keeping track. According to numbers from Monday morning, 6,415 people have recovered from the coronavirus. Leavenworth County reported 1,061 recoveries, Johnson County 633, Wyandotte County 503 and Douglas County 72.8 a.m. — Wyandotte County is reporting 1,677 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started with 13 patients currently hospitalized. The county said 76 people have died from the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak and 503 people are presumed recovered. The 66102 ZIP code is the most impacted area of the county with 447 cases, followed by the 66104 ZIP code with 292 and 66109 with 197.7 a.m. — Johnson County reported Monday morning 1,075 positive cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started. The county said it has 633 presumed recoveries. It also has tested 28,595 people with 27,520 negative tests for an overall positive test rate of 3.8%. The county said it has tested 47.5 people per 1,000 in the county. Johnson County said it continues to monitor 10 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, including the most recent outbreaks at Villa St. Francis, Overland Park Center for Rehabilitation and Garden Terrace at Overland Park.6 a.m. — Health officials say a protester who attended a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in downtown Topeka last week has tested positive for the coronavirus. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the person attended June 1 protests at the city’s Law Enforcement Center. The City-Cowley County Health Department also says a 14 year old likely exposed people to the virus in Cowley and Sedgwick counties this week. Kansas on Friday reported 11,047 cases of coronavirus, up 2% or 235 from Wednesday. The state health department says the number of statewide COVID-19 deaths rose by three to 243.The Associated Press contributed to this story.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —
The Kansas City metro has emerged from stay-at-home orders and local leaders have started to reopen businesses after weeks of shutdown from the coronavirus.
What you need to know:
- The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday the state has 11,681 cases confirmed cases of COVID-19 and there have been 247 deaths since the outbreak started. Kansas is now only updating COVID-19 data on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
- The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Tuesday 882 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in the state and there are 16,414 confirmed cases since the outbreak started.
WEDNESDAY
3:30 p.m. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Wednesday it has added three states to the quarantine list – Alabama, Arizona and Arkansas. Additionally, the KDHE said it removed six states from the list: Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. READ MORE
2:30 p.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 211 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 16,625 since the start of the outbreak. There have now been 909 deaths across Missouri from COVID-19, which is up 27 from Tuesday.
State health officials said that increased testing will be reflected in the numbers. Additionally, some counties are catching up on reporting and case and death numbers will sometimes see big increases.
[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]
The state said it has tested a total of 284,791 people through PCR testing – a test that looks for the virus in the nose, throat or other areas of the respiratory tract to determine if there is an active infection – and 5.7% of those were positive.
The state said it has tested 34,945 through serology testing – a test that looks for antibodies in the blood – and 3.7% of those were positive.
The DHSS reports 1,802 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kansas City, Missouri, which is up 40 from Tuesday. Jackson County saw an increase of 27 cases on Wednesday to reach the 916 mark. Health officials said there have been 30 deaths in Kansas City, and Jackson County reports 22 total.
The state also lists 301 (+2) total cases in Clay County (outside of Kansas City), 99 (+0) in Platte and 109 in Cass County.
12:30 p.m. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported an increase of 262 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in its first update since Monday to push the statewide total to 11,681 since the outbreak started.
DHE officials said the death total climbed by two to 247 on Wednesday.
Health officials said 1,011 patients have been hospitalized since the start of the outbreak. The state said it has tested 141,888 people with 130,443 negative test results, an overall percent positive test rate of 8.2%, and it is testing 48.70 per 1,000 people in Kansas.
[ KANSAS COVID-19 COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]
State health officials warned earlier we should see higher confirmed cases of COVID-19 as more testing becomes available, some counties catch up in reporting and more cases from correctional facilities and meatpacking plants are reported.
Ford County in southwestern Kansas has the most confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak at 1,897, followed by Wyandotte County with 1,793 cases since the outbreak started. Johnson County reports 1,139 cases, and Leavenworth County – home to Lansing Correctional Facility – has 1,118 cases.
Health officials said the median age of people with COVID-19 is 40, and they are monitoring 89 active clusters, including 41 active clusters within private industry.
Jackson County residents can get tested in Raytown Thursday 6/18.
It’s a drive-thru clinic at Connection Point Church off 350 highway. @kmbc You’re asked to fill out a questionnaire in advance. Here’s more information: https://t.co/T0HqDQvAr1— Kelly Eckerman KMBC (@KEckermanKMBC) June 17, 2020
11:15 a.m. — According to a report, the coronavirus is starting to take a toll on the Kansas State football team. One day after K-State athletics announced two student-athletes tested positive for COVID-19, the Manhattan Mercury reported that four more football players have tested positive for the virus. READ MORE
9 a.m. — A new study shows that children under the age of 10 are essentially safe from COVID-19. Kansas City Health Director Dr. Rex Archer said the study means elementary schools could look more traditional in the fall – especially if children get shots to prevent the flu. READ MORE
8:30 a.m. — The state of Kansas isn’t officially listing the number of people that have recovered from COVID-19, but local health departments across the state are keeping track. According to numbers from Wednesday morning, 6,791 people have recovered from the coronavirus, which means more than 59% of the people that have caught COVID-19 in Kansas are now listed as recovered. Leavenworth County reported 1,083 recoveries, Johnson County 647, Wyandotte County 564 and Douglas County 75.
8 a.m. — Wyandotte County is reporting 1,704 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started with 13 patients currently hospitalized. The new cases were an increase of 13 from Tuesday. The county said 76 people have died from the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak and 564 people are presumed recovered. The 66102 ZIP code is the most impacted area of the county with 454 (+3) cases, followed by the 66104 ZIP code with 296 (+4) and 66112 with 270.
7:35 a.m. — State officials on Tuesday said they’re reinstating requirements for unemployment and food stamps that were waived because of the coronavirus pandemic. Anna Hui, director of the state’s labor department, said workers will need to comply with job search requirements to keep getting unemployment after July 4. READ MORE
7 a.m. — Johnson County reported Wednesday morning 1,105 positive cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started, which is up 25 from Tuesday. The county said it has 647 presumed recoveries – up seven from Tuesday. It also has tested 30,023 people with 28,918 negative tests for an overall positive test rate of 3.7%. The county said it has tested 49.8 people per 1,000 in the county.
Johnson County said it now monitoring 11 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, which is up one from Tuesday. The most recent facility with onset of cases is at Garden Terrace at Overland Park, which has 34 cases, eight deaths and it’s been five days since the last onset date.
TUESDAY
4:15 p.m. — Officials with Kansas City’s Saint Luke’s Health System say the system is now facing budget cuts and furloughs for some employees as it works to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Hospital officials said from the start of the pandemic, hospital staff worked to stock up on supplies and ensure resources were available to treat patients in need. READ MORE
4 p.m. — Health officials in Wyandotte County are concerned about increasing cases of COVID-19 and indicated that a spike could push the county back into a more restrictive phase.
Wyandotte County is reporting 1,687 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started with 13 patients currently hospitalized. The new cases were an increase of 10 from Monday. The county has seen double-digit increase of cases since June 8. READ MORE
3:30 p.m. — Officials with the Kansas State University Athletics Department said two K-State athletes have tested positive for COVID-19. While the university did not say which sport the athletes played, university Athletic Director Gene Taylor said they were prepared for positive tests based on what other college football departments are seeing.
2:30 p.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 225 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 16,414 since the start of the outbreak. There have now been 882 deaths across Missouri from COVID-19, which is up two from Monday.
State health officials said that increased testing will be reflected in the numbers. Additionally, some counties are catching up on reporting.
[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]
The state said it has tested a total of 279,941 people through PCR testing — a test that looks for the virus in the nose, throat or other areas of the respiratory tract to determine if there is an active infection — and 5.7% of those were positive.
The state said it has tested 34,415 through serology testing — a test that looks for antibodies in the blood — and 3.7% of those were positive.
The DHSS reports 1,762 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kansas City, Missouri, which is up 25 from Monday. Jackson County saw an increase of 24 cases on Tuesday to reach the 889 mark. Health officials said there have been 29 deaths in Kansas City, and Jackson County reports 22 total.
The state also lists 299 (+6) total cases in Clay County (outside of Kansas City), 99 (+1) in Platte and 115 (+1) in Cass County.
Noon — The coronavirus is spreading beyond Missouri’s largest cities, fueled in part by outbreaks in meat packing plants and nursing homes.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the share of cases coming from rural areas now accounts for about 30% of the state’s new cases – a greater portion than ever before. The seven-day average of daily new cases in areas of the state beyond the St. Louis and Kansas City metro regions, has generally been under 50. But since the middle of May, a gradual climb has pushed the pace to about 65 new cases a day.
“There’s been this long-running perception that coronavirus is an urban phenomenon,” said Chris Prener, a sociologist at St. Louis University who closely tracks Missouri coronavirus trends. “It’s definitely an ongoing issue for rural areas.”
The per-capita rate of infections has leapt more than tenfold over the past month in Sullivan County, near the Iowa border, where a giant pork processing plant dominates the local economy, and employees have voiced concern about vulnerability to the virus.
Meanwhile, the St. Louis area – the state’s coronavirus epicenter for much of the outbreak – has seen new cases fall as the Kansas City region is getting hit significantly harder than ever.
— Based on current data and guidelines from the CDC, Truman State University announced that it plans to resume in-person instruction when the fall semester begins Aug. 17.
“Due to the ever-changing circumstances relating to COVID-19, the university is trying to maintain as much flexibility as possible and will make any necessary adjustments as needed,” the school said on its website .
10:15 a.m. — If you live or work in Clay County, you should know about some reopening changes that start Tuesday. All businesses and organizations can now let in up to half their listed capacities. That includes public and neighborhood pools, along with venues for weddings and funerals. Gatherings up to 250 people are now allowed with social distancing.
10 a.m. — The state of Missouri is back open after statewide shutdown orders were removed. Missouri was able to move to Phase 2 of its recovery plan because Gov. Mike Parson said the state expanded testing and expanded reserves of personal protective equipment. Parson also said the state is watching the capacities at hospitals and health-care systems and health officials now have better ability to predict potential outbreaks.
Even with the move to relax restrictions, some city and county restrictions are still in place, including in Kansas City.
While all businesses are cleared to open in Kansas City, they must keep the number of people on their property to 50% capacity or less. Restaurants must continue arranging tables and booths for social distancing.
9 a.m. — The state of Kansas isn’t officially listing the number of people that have recovered from COVID-19, but local health departments across the state are keeping track. According to numbers from Monday morning, 6,635 people have recovered from the coronavirus, which means more than 58% of the people that have caught COVID-19 in Kansas are now listed as recovered. Leavenworth County reported 1,083 recoveries, Johnson County 640, Wyandotte County 527 and Douglas County 72.
8 a.m. — Wyandotte County is reporting 1,687 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started with 13 patients currently hospitalized. The new cases were an increase of 10 from Monday. The county said 76 people have died from the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak and 527 people are presumed recovered. The 66102 ZIP code is the most impacted area of the county with 451 (+4) cases, followed by the 66104 ZIP code with 292 (+1) and 66109 with 197.
7 a.m. — Johnson County reported Tuesday morning 1,080 positive cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started, which is up five from Monday. The county said it has 640 presumed recoveries – up seven from Monday. It also has tested 29,084 people with 28,004 negative tests for an overall positive test rate of 3.7%. The county said it has tested 48.3 people per 1,000 in the county. Johnson County said it continues to monitor 10 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, including the most recent outbreaks at Villa St. Francis, Overland Park Center for Rehabilitation and Garden Terrace at Overland Park.
[ CLICK HERE FOR MAPS OF COVID-19 CASES BY COUNTY IN KANSAS & MISSOURI ]
[ TRACKING COVID-19 CURVE OF CASES, DEATHS IN KANSAS & MISSOURI ]
MONDAY
7:30 p.m. — Sedgwick County was among 13 counties that has seen an uptick in cases since last week, Gov. Laura Kelly said at a Monday news conference. Sedgwick County’s COVID-19 website shows a 19 more people in the county have tested positive, for a total of 764. Of those, 240 are active.
Kelly said the increase “is not a coincidence” and that local government officials in Sedgwick County opted to make all social distancing guidelines optional after state stay-at-home orders were lifted.
“If we do not treat this threat seriously, more lives will be lost. It will halt the reopening of our economy and prevent our children from returning to school,” Kelly said.
5:30 p.m. – Lawrence, Kansas, announced its first COVID-19 outbreak. Four people were infected at the same business. The health department says it is not identifying the business – due to patient privacy restrictions. The business was following proper guidelines for social distancing.
5 p.m. — Clay County, Missouri, will move into the second phase of its recovery plan, and health officials reminded people what the new phase will allow:
• All business and organizations, occupancy restrictions are relaxed to 50% of the entity’s authorized building/fire code occupancy.
• Gatherings including but not limited to, religious services, weddings, funerals of 50% of listed occupancy may continue provided physical distancing is maintained.
• Relaxing the maximum allowable attendance at mass gatherings to 250 provided physical distancing is maintained.
• Public/neighborhood association pools are limited to 50% of the bather load within the pool enclosure.
2:45 p.m. — The Jackson County Health Department said it is currently monitoring seven outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, including a recent outbreak at the Independence Manor Care Center.
The county reports that Independence Manor Care Center has 39 confirmed cases of COVID-19, which makes it the second-largest outbreak in the county behind Lee’s Summit Pointe Health and Rehabilitation with 54.
Overall, the county said there have been 181 cases from the ongoing outbreak locations and 10 deaths linked to the locations.
“We are clearly seeing the second wave of COVID-19 in the Kansas City metro area, and it is vital that our residents, particularly those in the vulnerable populations, take steps to protect themselves and their families from this disease,” Independence Mayor Eileen Weir said.
“The deaths associated with COVID-19 in Jackson County continue to rise. Residents are strongly encouraged to wear a cloth face covering when in public, regularly wash your hands for 20 seconds and, if possible, avoid travel outside of essential business. This is a disease that spreads quickly because many of us will never know if we have it, but it takes all of us to keep our friends, family and neighbors safe.”
The first case was identified at the Independence Manor last week with the remaining 38 cases came back positive over the weekend. The city of Independence is working in collaboration with the Jackson County Health Department and the Missouri State Department of Health and Senior Services to ensure the facility has the tools and resources they need to protect all residents and staff.
“Upon notification that an employee had tested positive for the virus, we immediately tested all our residents and staff,” Corporate Nurse Kristi Mansour said. “We are doing everything we can to ensure we stop the spread of this within our facility. We continue to be in close communication with local and state health officials to ensure we are taking the appropriate steps at this time.”
2:30 p.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 206 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, bringing the statewide total to 16,189 since the start of the outbreak. There have now been 880 deaths across Missouri from COVID-19, which is up one from Sunday.
State health officials said that increased testing will be reflected in the numbers. Additionally, some counties are catching up on reporting.
[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]
The state said it has tested a total of 279,461 people through PCR testing — a test that looks for the virus in the nose, throat or other areas of the respiratory tract to determine if there is an active infection — and 5.7% of those were positive.
The state said it has tested 34,415 through serology testing — a test that looks for antibodies in the blood — and 3.7% of those were positive.
The DHSS reports 1,737 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kansas City, Missouri, and 865 cases in eastern Jackson County. Health officials said there have been 29 deaths in Kansas City, and Jackson County reports 22 total.
The state also lists 293 total cases in Clay County (outside of Kansas City), 98 in Platte and 114 in Cass County.
2:15 p.m. — The University of Kansas announced its plan for a return to campus for the fall semester at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses. KU Chancellor Doug Girod announced in an email to students, staff and faculty that classes will begin as planned on Aug. 24, and classes will conclude before Thanksgiving, at which point students will be encouraged to leave campus for the semester. READ MORE
1:45 p.m. — The head of the Kansas City’s health department is worried about a spike in confirmed cases of the coronavirus. KCUR reported that the rate of new cases has increased every week since May 10, reaching an average of 52 new cases reported per day for the week that ended Friday.
“We are on a rise of a second wave,” Kansas City Health Department Director Dr. Rex Archer said on KCUR on Friday.
The health department said in a statement this week that the rise in confirmed cases is because of increased testing as well as new outbreaks. State data shows that Kansas City now has 1,690 confirmed cases. The city has reported 29 deaths from COVID-19.
Missouri’s statewide order requiring 6-foot social distancing, limiting capacity in stores and banning visits to nursing homes expires after Monday, although it’s unclear if health officials have done much to enforce it since it took effect June 1.
1:30 p.m. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported an increase of 372 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in its first update since Friday to push the statewide total to 11,419 since the outbreak started.
DHE officials said the death total climbed by two to 245 on Wednesday.
Health officials said 988 patients have been hospitalized since the start of the outbreak. The state said it has tested 136,741 people with 125,543 negative test results, an overall percent positive test rate of 8.4%, and it is testing 46.94 per 1,000 people in Kansas.
[ KANSAS COVID-19 COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]
State health officials warned earlier we should see higher confirmed cases of COVID-19 as more testing becomes available, some counties catch up in reporting and more cases from correctional facilities and meatpacking plants are reported.
Ford County in southwestern Kansas has the most confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak at 1,882, followed by Wyandotte County with 1,736 cases since the outbreak started. Leavenworth County – home to Lansing Correctional Facility – has 1,100 cases, and Johnson County reports 1,106 cases.
1:15 p.m. — Officials with John Knox Village in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, said multiple employees who work at the campus Village Care Center have tested positive for COVID-19. A release from John Knox says five new employees at the facility’s care center have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the facility’s total number of positive cases to nine. READ MORE
9 a.m. — The state of Kansas isn’t officially listing the number of people that have recovered from COVID-19, but local health departments across the state are keeping track. According to numbers from Monday morning, 6,415 people have recovered from the coronavirus. Leavenworth County reported 1,061 recoveries, Johnson County 633, Wyandotte County 503 and Douglas County 72.
8 a.m. — Wyandotte County is reporting 1,677 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started with 13 patients currently hospitalized. The county said 76 people have died from the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak and 503 people are presumed recovered. The 66102 ZIP code is the most impacted area of the county with 447 cases, followed by the 66104 ZIP code with 292 and 66109 with 197.
7 a.m. — Johnson County reported Monday morning 1,075 positive cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started. The county said it has 633 presumed recoveries. It also has tested 28,595 people with 27,520 negative tests for an overall positive test rate of 3.8%. The county said it has tested 47.5 people per 1,000 in the county. Johnson County said it continues to monitor 10 outbreaks at long-term care facilities, including the most recent outbreaks at Villa St. Francis, Overland Park Center for Rehabilitation and Garden Terrace at Overland Park.
6 a.m. — Health officials say a protester who attended a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in downtown Topeka last week has tested positive for the coronavirus. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the person attended June 1 protests at the city’s Law Enforcement Center. The City-Cowley County Health Department also says a 14 year old likely exposed people to the virus in Cowley and Sedgwick counties this week. Kansas on Friday reported 11,047 cases of coronavirus, up 2% or 235 from Wednesday. The state health department says the number of statewide COVID-19 deaths rose by three to 243.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
