TOPEKA, Kan. — Health officials are reporting 41 cases of the coronavirus and one death linked to funeral services and visitations in Topeka’s Shawnee County. The county’s health department says the positive cases include residents from five different counties. Health officials urged families to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and work with funeral directors and religious leaders to keep services safe. New data released Wednesday shows Kansas has 11,681 cases, up 2% or 262 cases from Monday. The state health department also said that the number of COVID-19 deaths rose by two to 247.
Author: KMAN Staff
Kansas State University says eight employees in Information Technology Services will be furloughed beginning June 28. Doing so will save the university more than $100,000. The emergency action comes following 430 employee furloughs since May due COVID-19 impacts. The university estimates in total, it has saved nearly $2.75 million. K-State’s Division of Human Capital Services is working with affected employees on federal and state health benefit options. Furloughed employees may qualify for state unemployment benefits.
Kansas State University has canceled all semester-long education abroad programs for fall of 2020. This development is due to K-State policy preventing university-sponsored travel when certain travel advisories are put in place or maintained. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently have a Level 3 travel advisory in place while the U.S. State Department has a Level 4 warning. For more information on K-State education abroad programs, contact oversease@k-state.edu.
Juneteenth was the focus of Wednesday’s program. Black Lives Matter Juneteenth March co-organizers Jaynae Cole and Teresa Parks along with secretary Rebecca Gould previewed that event taking place on Friday, June 19. We also spoke with Juneteenth Committee members Dave and Sonya Baker and treasurer Debbie Nuss on the importance of Juneteenth in Manhattan and the Douglass Community Center’s role in bringing the community together.
The American Red Cross is now testing all blood, platelet and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies. The Red Cross says the antibody test used is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and may indicate if a donor’s immune system has produced antibodies to the coronavirus, regardless of whether they developed symptoms. Donations will be tested using samples pulled at the time of donation and sent to a laboratory where they will undergo routine infectious disease testing. A positive antibody test result does not confirm infection or immunity. COVID-19 antibody test results will be available within a week to…
An employee in the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office tested positive for COVID-19 last week. As a result, the Pottawatomie County Health Department will begin testing select inmates and corrections staff on Wednesday, June 17. The new patient is the first county staff member to test positive for COVID-19. Anyone who was in close contact with the patient was ordered to self-quarantine and check for symptoms. County employees are being advised to avoid non-essential travel and large gatherings when possible and to practice physical distancing. For more information on COVID-19, visit kdheks.gov.
Two members of the Ascension Via Christi Hospital medical staff who traveled to COVID-19 hot spots in May to care for patients joined KMAN’s In Focus last week to reflect on their experiences. Brooklyn Stoddard, a CNA, worked at a rehabilitation nursing facility in a town about 30 miles southwest of Chicago called Joliet. According to Stoddard, about 90 percent of the staff at the nursing facility were out sick with COVID-19. “A lot of them had worked up to 28 days in a row,” Stoddard said. “We were there to help them have some days off so they could…
In a release from K-State Athletics on Tuesday afternoon, the school announced that two of their student athletes had tested positive for COVID-19. A source told KMAN on Tuesday morning that at least one of the positives is a member of the football team. K-State received the positive results after 120 student-athletes had been tested as of June 16th, following the use of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing. Each student-athlete that arrives in Manhattan is to stay at home for seven days prior to their testing. During that time the athletes are not allowed inside any department facilities or participate…
The impact of COVID-19 on local businesses Jack Allston, executive director of the Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation, presented to the Pottawatomie County Commission Monday the results of a survey showing how COVID-19 has impacted local businesses. Of the businesses that responded to the survey, about 15 percent closed and are now open, about 4 percent closed and are still closed and the rest have remained open. As for how job numbers have changed, Allston says there is good news. According to Allston, event-based companies have been negatively impacted the most while those involved in food service and childcare are also…
BELLEVILLE, Kan. — The Kansas Highway Patrol says a Minnesota truck driver has died in a crash in northern Kansas. Television station KAKE reports that the crash happened Monday morning on U.S. Highway 81 in Republic County, killing 33-year-old David Fronning, of Breckenridge, Minnesota. Investigators say Fronning was driving a semitrailer southbound on the highway when it went into a ditch, hit an embankment and went airborne before crashing into trees, coming to rest on its side in a field. Authorities say Fronning died at the scene.