Riley County Health Department Director Julie Gibbs joined us Thursday for a daily update on the coronavirus response locally. The full audio is below. As hospitals across the country deal with the impact of COVID-19, local health officials are advising people to consider alternatives to the emergency room. Riley County Health Department Director Julie Gibbs says it should be used as a last resort. “We’re sending out messages that unless it’s a life-threatening situation we want you to utilize other systems available,” she said. She says one alternative is a screening service recently put in place by the health department to advise those…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — As most of the U.S. raced to get ahead of the coronavirus pandemic, conservative Republican lawmakers in Kansas moved Wednesday to limit their Democratic governor’s emergency powers, including the ability to establish quarantine zones if the need arises. Conservatives are angry with Gov. Laura Kelly’s order to close all of the state’s K-12 school buildings for the rest of the spring semester. They view it both as an overreaction that is fueling panic and a sign that she’s willing to have state government move aggressively into people’s businesses and lives. Some of her most conservative critics also suggested…
Manhattan City Hall and city facilities will close to the public in response to COVID-19 effective Thursday, March 19. City officials made the announcement via release Thursday afternoon, noting the closures will be in place until April 6th at the earliest. All city and advisory board meetings will be held online via Zoom and broadcast on Cox cable channel 3, cityofmhk.com/tv or on the city’s Facebook page. “Circumstances are changing rapidly, so it is important that we continue to take precautionary measures to protect the health and safety of our residents and employees,” says City Manager Ron Fehr. “While we…
Kansas State University has suspended all hiring effective immediately. K-State will stop recruiting any new employees at this time. Also any potential employees in the recruiting process will have their recruitment suspended. To move forward with any current recruitment, or to begin new recruitment faculty must have it approved by the appropriate vice president. Click on the link to read the official announcement. https://www.k-state.edu/today/info/announcement/?id=63203 Big 12 Online Career fair still on In other news K-State students will still be able to access the Big 12 Online Career fair. The fair is from 8:00 am. to 5:00 P.M. Notable employers participating…
Riley County commissioners this afternoon held a special meeting to close the county offices to the public. The offices will be closed for the next 14 calendar days effective tomorrow at 8 a.m. This also includes the health department. The only building excluded from closure is the county transfer station. County employees can still come to work pending their department heads. The commission’s authorization also allows employees to use administrative leave during this time. The commission still plans on having their open meeting tomorrow morning, but have not yet made a decision for future meetings. Also during the meeting, the…
Universities and colleges across the United States are shutting down and moving online in response to the global coronavirus pandemic, and Kansas State University is anticipating losing tens of millions of dollars in revenue. K-State President Richard Myers said the universities “hastily” gathered figures estimate a $21 million impact as a result of ceasing in-person operations to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He spoke during a digital meeting of the Kansas Board of Regents Wednesday. KSU also announced Wednesday that resident students who left the dorms since Spring Break will receive prorated refunds of their room and meal plan payments…
An old automotive service station across the street from Johnny Kaw at Manhattan City Park is going to get a new look. The Manhattan City Commission Tuesday voted to rezone a 22,500 square foot area adjacent to the park to allow for a planned restaurant, drinking establishment and bakery. Unanimously approved by the City Commission, the old service station at 1026 Poyntz Avenue will transform into Parkside Station by the end of 2020. “It looks like a great development,” says Mayor Pro Tempore Wynn Butler. “It looks like it fits perfect, a good thing to have next to City Park.”…
Manhattan and Wamego’s local hospitals are limiting elective non-emergent services, as part of COVID-19 preparedness efforts. In a statement released Wednesday morning, Bob Copple, president of Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan said “there is no substitute for that independent medical judgement, but it’s critical that we all be good stewards of our healthcare resources.” Surgeons and other physicians who perform procedures at Ascension Via Christi hospitals and other ambulatory sites of care are being asked to postpone elective, non-urgent cases such as bariatric, plastic joint replacement and others for 45 days or more. Patients scheduled for non-emergent procedures should…
Americans are looking to maintain as much normalcy as possible amid nationwide closures in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and so are local governments. Amid the uncertainty, Manhattan is exploring ways to accommodate comments from members of the public if city commission meetings are moved entirely online. “I don’t think it’s about limiting the public access,” says Deputy City Manager Jason Hilgers. “It’s about coordinating their comments to you all and how we can do that without requiring them to show up and requiring staff to be here to actually make it real time.” The meetings would be conducted…
K-State Biosecurity Research Institute Director Stephen Higgs spoke with KMAN about the development of potential COVID-19 vaccines. Higgs says there are vaccines currently in the works, but their development will likely take some time. According to Higgs, there is vaccine research that has already passed the animal-testing stage, but people shouldn’t expect it to be available any time soon. Higgs also spoke to KMAN about the importance of social distancing when it comes to preventing the spread of COVID-19. He says staying away from other people is particularly important because those with the virus may not show any symptoms. He…