Update 6 p.m. Thursday
Riley County Health Department Director Julie Gibbs says the latest case, a 54-year-old man, was a close contact with another individual who tested positive for COVID-19.
Gibbs says they are working on contact tracing and informing individuals who may have been in close contact with this patient.
Update 12 p.m. Thursday – 26th confirmed case announced, 12th person now in recovery
A 26th positive case of coronavirus was announced this morning by the Riley County Health Department.
A 54-year-old man was the latest to test positive. Two cases were confirmed on Wednesday as well including a 44-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man. No other details have been shared about them. More concrete information is expected at the 4:15 p.m. news conference
The Riley County Commission also approved an alternate care site for treating patients, though that site has not yet been made public.
To see more daily COVID-19 updates from the Riley County Health Department click here.
Update 5 p.m. Wednesday
Riley County Health Department Director Julie Gibbs is extending health and safety provisions mandated of local child care providers through May 2.
Gibbs provided an update to the community via a pre-recorded Zoom press conference. She says the total number of positive tests now sits at 25, with 8 patients recovered, 9 pending tests and 20 individuals being monitored. Contact tracing for the new cases is still pending.
Gibbs says the KDHE recommends day cares stay open to provide an essential service to the community and employees deemed essential that cannot work from home, but to remain in operation they must continue abiding by currently required precautions.
“Child care shall be carried out in stable groups of 10 or fewer, children shall not move from one stable group to another, child care providers shall remain solely with one stable group of children and the providers should be taking temperatures of each child upon arrival and again just before leaving the facility,” Gibbs says.
Gibbs says these are provisions necessary to protect children and families.
Area Child Care Licensing Supervisor Heather Ritchey says local child care providers have been doing a great job abiding by the requirements and that their biggest struggle of late has been finding cleaning supplies — though a local church has stepped in to assist.
Ritchey says she’s heard concerns from both providers and parents about the others not abiding by stay-at-home orders.
“I think it’s just a catch-22,” says Ritchey. “We all just have to remember that we all have to stay at home because it affects everyone.”
She says that can be tough for parents of teens, noting that not every teen has the perspective to consider others’ needs over their own. In those cases, Ritchey says parents really need to hammer home the importance of safety at this time while noting that the issue isn’t limited to teens.”
“It’s not just about them,” says Ritchey. “It’s about aunts, it’s about uncles, it’s about grandmas and grandpas, it’s about if your parents run a day care and they have little kids in care and about protecting them and then those children that go home and they’re around their parents and they’re around their grandparents — it’s a cycle.”
Gibbs says work continues to progress on acquiring an alternate care site that could serve as a respiratory rehabilitation facility and isolation/quarantine housing for health care workers and others who may have been exposed to the coronavirus and cannot return home for fear of infecting their families. They anticipate coming to a deal by the end of the week, but that does not mean they will need to utilize it at this time.
Assistant RCPD Director Kurt Moldrup also asks the community continue physically distancing and maintaining good hygiene amid the pandemic. He says with warmer temperatures approaching it may be tempting to organize get-togethers, but cautions against that noting larger gatherings make it harder to abide by CDC and KDHE recommendations and increases the risk of community spread.
“Please continue to stay the course so that we can slow the spread to the point that the governor can lift this order and we can all begin the process of getting back to normal,” Moldrup says. “Remember, you’re not only protecting yourself from being infected [by]others, but you’re also protecting others from you. The CDC indicates that you can be contagious before you’re symptomatic and there are some people who can have the virus and not even experience the symptoms.”
Officials also warn the community to beware of scams, saying RCPD and RCHD will never call asking for financial information or social security numbers. They will focus on your interactions with infected individuals. If there are any concerns, Moldrup recommends ending the call and calling the RCPD directly to verify the caller is who they say they are.
Gibbs also encourages the wearing of cloth masks when physical distancing is not possible, and asks employers to require that of employees in those cases as well. Westview Community Church is collecting donations of cloth masks for those in need. Donations and distribution is available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. as well as on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. They’re located at 615 Gillespie Drive.
Questions about COVID-19 can be directed to RileyCountyCOVID19@gmail.com. The screening line can also be reached from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. at (785) 323-6400. Resources on coping with mental distress during this time can be found at Pawnee.org.
Update 2:15 p.m. Wednesday
Gov. Laura Kelly announces an extension of the statewide stay-at-home order until midnight May 3.
Kelly made the announcement Wednesday, April 15, during her daily Facebook Live press conference. She says the state continues to see increases in the number of positive COVID-19 tests and a growing number of counties are reporting new positives.
Kansas currently has 1,494 confirmed positive cases, up 68 from Tuesday, in 63 different counties, an increase by one from yesterday as well.
She says models predict the state peaking somewhere between April 19 and 29, but their internal projections do not indicate the peak will be reached by the 19th.
“Ideally, we need to see a reduction in the number of cases for 14 days before we begin to relax social gathering restrictions,” says Kelly.
Kelly says in the coming weeks, her administration will be communicating with business leaders, health experts, economists and community leaders to determine a plan to safely re-open the state’s economy. Additionally, she says she is working with Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Kansas City metro mayors to coordinate their efforts.
“We believe a regional approach will reduce confusion and help keep our communities safe on both sides of the state line.”
Kelly says since the beginning of the pandemic, Kansas hospitals began rationing personal protective equipment and scaling back non-emergency medical procedures — increasing their costs and decreasing their revenue.
“Many now struggle just to make payroll,” she says. “Our hospitals are on the front line of this pandemic, we cannot stand by and do nothing as they stare down a financial crisis on top of a public health crisis.”
The state’s finance council Wednesday afternoon will discuss a $17 million grant program through KDHE to help out struggling hospitals until more substantial federal assistance becomes available. Kelly says, pending the council’s action, she’ll be submitting a request for the funding to be included in the human services case load estimates.
“We need our hospitals focused on saving lives, not on keeping the lights on,” says Kelly.
Kelly says another focus through May is expanding testing capacity and developing mitigation strategies to help local businesses safely open their doors to employees and customers.
“Moving forward, it’s clear that no state in the nation will truly be able to get back to normal until a vaccine for COVID-19 is developed, manufactured and made widely available,” says Kelly. “We won’t be able to lift all restrictions on mass gatherings overnight, but we know how much of a hardship these mitigation efforts have caused for thousands of Kansas families and businesses.”
“We’re working as quickly as we can to give our communities a plan for the future.”
Update: 1 p.m. Wednesday
Today marks the third consecutive day where at least two more Riley County residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total to 25 cases.
One of the cases involves a 20-year-old male while the other case involves a 44-year-old female.
The Riley County Health Department is currently working to find out more about the new cases.
Update: 5 p.m. Tuesday
Two more Riley County residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total to 23 positive cases.
The two new cases involve a 54-year-old female and a 32-year-old male, both of whom are isolated in their homes.
There are now nine recoveries in Riley County, nine pending cases, 157 negative tests and 20 individuals being monitored.
Statewide, there are 1,426 positive cases of coronavirus, 327 hospitalizations and 69 deaths.
Update: 7 p.m. Monday
Two Dillon’s East employees have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Riley County Health Department.
Both are Geary County residents who work at the location on Sarber Lane. Health Department Director Julie Gibbs says the store has implemented a number of extra cleaning procedures since finding out about the cases. Included in that is increased frequency of cleaning the commonly used areas like cash registers. Masks and gloves have also been provided to employees.
“I applaud their effort. They’ve done a lot to protect their employees and customers,” she said.
The location has also reduced hours and started limiting the amount of customers inside the building at a given time to help reduce the spread. Geary County health officials plan to release additional details soon, according to Gibbs.
One of the employees last worked in the store on April 1 between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. The other worked in the store’s Starbucks location on April 8 between 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
The latest Riley County case involves a 20-year-old Manhattan woman who is isolated in her home. In Riley County, 21 total positive cases have been recorded. Eight people have since recovered, 18 are being monitored and six test results are still pending.
Pottawatomie County announced no new cases Monday. Five people in total have tested positive there. All five are in recovery.
Statewide, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Monday there are 1,376 cases, 309 hospitalizations and 62 deaths attributed to the virus.
Update: 3 p.m. Monday
After three days reporting no new cases, the Riley County Health Department identified one new positive case Monday, the county’s 21st overall case.
Health Department Director Julie Gibbs said Monday she was encouraged by the drop in the amount of positive cases, but says it will be important to stay vigilant.
“The community is making great efforts to follow the CDC guidelines and we need to stay the course,” said Gibbs. “I am so proud of your hard work and if we keep it up, we will continue to slow the spread.”
Seven people in Riley County have now recovered. There remain six pending test results. There have been 155 negative test results.
KDHE on Monday reported five total cases remain in Pottawatomie County (all five are in recovery). Geary County’s total was at eight according to KDHE, though local health officials confirmed nine cases as of Sunday.
Update: Noon Monday
The Riley County Health Department has confirmed 1 new positive case of COVID-19 in the county as of 10 am this morning bringing the total up to 21.
We will provide updates as soon as they become available.
Department Director Julie Gibbs will join KMAN at 5 pm for her daily COVID-19 report.
Original story — 9 a.m. Monday
No new cases of COVID-19 were reported over the weekend in Riley or Pottawatomie County.
At Monday’s Riley County Commission meeting, health department director Julie Gibbs says the total amount of positive cases remains at 20. There are currently 17 people being monitored while they also await results on nine pending tests. Seven people have recovered. In Pottawatomie County there remain five positive cases, all in recovery. A total of 73 people have been tested so far.
Ascension Via Christi President Bob Copple said Monday it appears local efforts to flatten the curve are working.
“I think it demonstrates the power of social distancing and also we’ve been really blessed that we don’t have clusters. There’s been not a single cluster that’s developed in this region,” he said.
Geary County health officials reported two new cases Sunday, a 38 year-old woman and a 26-year-old woman to bring their county case load to nine.
Statewide, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 1,337 cases Sunday with a total of 56 deaths.
Gibbs will join KMAN at 5 p.m. for her daily COVID-19 report.
