Kansas Reports First COVID-19 Death; Governor Declares Emergency
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City-area nursing home resident has become Kansas' first COVID-19-related death and the state's fifth coronavirus case. Health officials said Thursday that his case means that the new coronavirus has now spread locally. Governor Laura Kelly announced the death of a man in his 70s who lived in Wyandotte County. she made the announcement just hours after health officials announced they had identified three other coronavirus cases in neighboring Johnson County. The state reported its first case, also from Johnson County, last Saturday. Kelly declared a state of emergency to make it easier for the state to mobilize its resources.
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Owner of Nursing Home Tied to Kansas Coronavirus Death Runs Washington State Nursing Home Where 22 Died
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas health officials say a nursing home resident who became the satte's first COVID-19-related death was infected at the Life Care Center of Kansas City, Kansas, which is owned by the same company that owns the facility in Washington state linked to 22 fatalities. Kansas Health Secretary Lee Norman says they're looking into whether there has been any sharing of personnel between the nursing homes in Kirkland, Washington, and the one in Wyandotte Country. Norman says no other residents at the Life Center nursing home are showing symptoms. ( Read more about this story.)
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UPDATE: Kansas Records 6th Case of Coronavirus; Latest Case from Butler County, Near Wichita
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas now has six cases of coronavirus. Officials at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita say they have confirmed a patient with COVID-19. Four cases have been identified in Johnson County and one man in Wyandotte County has died from the virus. This latest case in south-central Kansas brings the statewide total to six. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the new case is a man in his 70s from Butler County, east of Wichita. The man, who had traveled outside the U.S., is in isolation and health officials are reaching out to people who might have had contact with him. “Kansans should remain vigilant,” Dr. Lee Norman, the KDHE secretary, said in a written statement. “It’s important to live your lives, but it’s also important to take basic precautions like exercising good hygiene practices. It is up to each of us to do our part.” KDHE said in the release that it would no longer send out individual updates on each new case identified in the state. KDHE also reports that 93 people have tested negative for the virus (as of Friday afternoon).
For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as a fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
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UPDATE: Kansas Counties Close Schools, Courts Contemplate New Schedules, Hospitals Restrict Access - All Due to Coronavirus Concerns
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR / AP LJW) — Lawrence Public Schools will close for the next two weeks. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that local health officials announced late Friday that Douglas County schools, indoor park and recreational facilities and public libraries will be closed in response to the spread of the new coronavirus. Similar actions have been taken by health officials in other Kansas counties, including Shawnee, Riley, Dickinson and Sedgwick. Several Kansas counties have also banned large public gatherings, or those involving more than 250 people.
Meanwhile...
- The Kansas Supreme Court also ordered the state’s courts to make a plan to keep critical functions running amid the pandemic.
- The Kansas Department of Corrections has suspended all visitation at all KDOC facilities, effective immediately.
- Several hospitals, including those in Lawrence and Wichita, have announced that they are now restricting access to visitors. Nursing homes are also rolling out new restrictions.
- Numerous events and activities have been canceled.
- Several museums have been closed, including the National WWI Museum in Kansas City. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art will close from Saturday, March 14 through Friday, April 3. During that time, the art museum will halt all events and public access to the museum.
- The Kansas State High School Activities Association announced that the 2020 state basketball tournaments have been canceled without make-up, marking the first time since 1907 that a state champion won't be crowned.
- Other events around the state have been canceled or suspended, including St. Patrick's Day parades in Lawrence, Topeka and Kansas City. The Harlem Globetrotters game at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita has been called off.
- All events scheduled to occur between March 13-29 at the Stormont Vail Events Center in Topeka have been canceled
- Kansas Relays (scheduled for April 15-18) at the University of Kansas have been canceled
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South-Central Kansas Town Loses Its Only Hospital During Coronavirus Outbreak; Sixth Rural Kansas Hospital to Close in Past Decade
WELLINGTON, Kan. (The Wichita Eagle) The Sumner County Hospital in Wellington shut its doors unexpectedly this week just as the country struggles with the growing threat of the coronavirus pandemic. “Now’s not the time for anyone to be losing a hospital,” said Wellington City Manager Shane Shields. The Wichita Eagle reports that Sumner Community Hospital abruptly closed Thursday night after years of financial difficulties. According to Shields, those financial difficulties were at least partially fueled by the state government’s indecision on expanding Medicaid in Kansas. The Kansas House of Representatives has approved a bill to expand Medicaid but that measure has stalled in the Kansas Senate. Republican Senate President Susan Wagle, of Wichita, has vowed to block the bill from coming to a vote until the House reverses itself and passes a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn a state Supreme Court decision limiting the Legislature’s authority to regulate abortion.
Sumner Community Hospital joins a list of five other Kansas rural hospitals that have closed since 2010. The others include: Central Kansas Medical Center of Great Bend, Horton Community Hospital, Mercy Hospital of Fort Scott, Mercy Hospital of Independence and Oswego Community Hospital, according to a list compiled last year by Becker’s Hospital CFO Report. Approximately 75 jobs were lost in the Wellington hospital’s closure. The small town is located about 35 miles south of Wichita.
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Kansas Price-Gouging Law Now in Effect for Virus-Response Supplies
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) – A price-gouging law is now in effect across Kansas. Attorney General Derek Schmidt says the law prohibits anyone from profiteering by raising the price on items consumers find necessary because of the coronavirus outbreak. “The Kansas anti-profiteering statute is rarely invoked but is designed to prevent opportunistic greed from overcoming the public need for necessary, virus-response products and services during this time of emergency,” Schmidt said. The law generally prohibits unjustifiably raising prices for goods and services for which consumer demand is likely to increase because of the virus outbreak.
A price increase is presumed unjustified if it exceeds by 25 percent or more the price at which the goods or services were available on March 11 or the price for which the same goods or services are available from other sellers in the trade area. Examples of consumer goods and services governed by the anti-profiteering law include, but are not limited to, food items, sanitary and cleaning supplies such as hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, emergency supplies, medical supplies and services. The law carries a penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. ( Read more about this story.)
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Earlier reporting...
First Coronavirus Death in Kansas Leads to Numerous Cancellations, Including College Basketball Season
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — As Kansas recorded its first death from the coronavirus, state athletic officials canceled the state's high school basketball tournaments and hospitals and nursing homes restricted access. Governor Laura Kelly announced Thursday the death of a man in his 70s who was infected in a Wyandotte County nursing home by community spread. Hours earlier, state and local health officials announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in the state had grown from one to four, with all of them in neighboring Johnson County, also in the Kansas City metropolitan area. All four of those cases involved people who had become infected traveling out of state.
Along with all the other major breaking news stories on Thursday, the Big 12 Basketball Tournament in Kansas City was canceled. Hours later, the NCAA canceled its national tournaments for both men and women, bringing the college basketball season - and March Madness - to an abrupt end.
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KC Bans All Large Public Events; Universities Move Classes Online
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City has banned all public events with more than 1,000 people as cancellations mount around the state - and other states - because of concerns over the new coronavirus. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas made the announcement Thursday, shortly after organizers cancelled a St. Patrick's Day parade. St. Louis and Springfield also canceled their parades. A similar situation is playing out in Kansas. Topeka and Lawrence called off their own parades. Meanwhile, a number of universities have been calling off classes or moving them online. Hundreds of universities and colleges around the country decided to simply send students home. The University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Emporia State and Wichita State have decided to hold all classes in cyberspace once students return from spring break.
Kansas Public Radio, KCUR and other partners in the Kansas News Service collaboration are pooling resources to provide updated information on coronavirus and COVID-19 in Kansas. Find it here: Updated Regularly: What Kansans Need to Know About COVID-19 and Coronavirus
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Missouri Has Second Coronavirus Case as Cancellations Grow
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Missouri officials say the state has a second case of the novel coronavirus. Governor Mike Parson announced that the patient is in the early 20s and had recently traveled to Austria. The patient submitted to a test on Thursday and was found to be positive for COVID-19. Parson said the patient is quarantined at home and is expected to recover. He said cases of patients with the virus are travel-related. St. Louis meanwhile has joined Kansas City in banning all public events with more than 1,000 people in response to the coronavirus.
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COVID-19 Concerns Disrupt Work at State Capitols in Kansas, Missouri and Across the Country
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Concerns about the coronavirus are starting to disrupt legislative business in state capitols across the country. Several chambers have canceled sessions for next week, including those in Delaware, Illinois and Missouri. Kansas officials, and officials at other state capitols, are urging the public to stay away while they work. In Washington state, hardest hit by the virus, lawmakers were rushing to finish work on a budget containing funding for a coronavirus response before their session ends.
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Coroner: Skier Who Died in Colorado Was 20-Year-Old Leawood Man
VAIL, Colo. (AP) — A skier who died at Vail has been identified as a 20-year-old man from Kansas. The Vail Daily reports ski patrol was called to an intermediate run at the resort's Blue Sky Basin area, and the man, identified by the Eagle County coroner as Connor Vande Garde, of Leawood, died at a hospital near the base of the mountain. Vail officials offered sympathy and support to Vande Garde's family and friends but have not released details about the circumstances of his death, which was announced Wednesday.
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2 Charged in Murder of Kansas Man in His Home
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say two Kansas men were charged Thursday with first-degree murder and other crimes connected to the death of an 83-year-old Vermillion man. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release that the murder charges stem from the Jan. 24 death of Donald E. McLaughlin at his home. The Marshall County attorney filed charges against 18-year-old Jeremy M. Penix II of Melvern and 47-year-old Jefferson S. Goad of Waverly. Both men also face charges of conspiracy, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, arson and interference with a law enforcement officer.
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Crews Search for 2-Year-Old Girl After Dad Drives into River
LEON, Kan. (AP) — Emergency crews are still searching for the body of a 2-year-old Kansas girl who disappeared after her father drove them both into a river. Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet says the man's body was recovered from the Walnut River near Leon Wednesday night but that the girl has not been found. Herzet says the father drove into the river after Leon officers tried to take the girl from him because he was drinking. The truck went off an embankment and into the river, landing on its top. Officers began looking for the man Wednesday afternoon after the girl's mother called police.
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Jury Convicts Kansas Man in Houston Lake Shooting
Platte City, MO (AP) — Prosecutors say a jury has convicted a Kansas man of murder for shooting an unarmed man in the back at a home in Missouri. The Platte County prosecutor's office said in a news release Thursday that 28-year-old Coty Borst, of Shawnee, was found guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action following a three-day trial. The charges stem from an altercation on June 21, 2018, at a Houston Lake home during which Borst fired into the back of Jacob Stowers. He fled and was found following a manhunt.
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Psych Evaluation Ordered for Kansas Man Who Sought Trial by Combat
HARLAN, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa judge has ordered a psychological evaluation of a Kansas man who asked the judge to let him engage in a sword fight with his ex-wife and her attorney so that he can "rend their souls" from their bodies. David Ostrom, of Paola, Kansas, said in a January 3 court filing that his former wife in Harlan, Iowa, and her attorney had destroyed him legally. She subsequently asked the judge to suspend Ostrom's visitation rights and order an evaluation. The judge granted both requests last week. Ostrom told The Des Moines Register that he has an appointment scheduled with a psychologist.
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Lawsuit: Ex-Missouri School Superintendent Was a Sexual Predator
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A lawsuit accuses a former superintendent at a suburban Kansas City school district of being a sexual predator who used his position to identify vulnerable students while other administrators turned a blind eye. The lawsuit filed on behalf of a former student alleges that former Lone Jack School District Superintendent Matthew Tarwater used emotionally and psychologically abusive behaviors starting when the student was 16. The suit says they had sex when the former student was 21 but that it wasn't consensual because of "years of predatory sexual grooming.” No criminal charges have been filed against against Tarwater. He declined to discuss the allegations with The Kansas City Star editorial board.
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Motorcycle Rider Dies After Crash with Wichita School Bus
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a man died after his motorcycle crashed into a school bus. Police spokesman Charley Davidson says 22-year-old Tyler Bins died Wednesday afternoon after being pinned under the bus. A 49-year-old man who was riding a different motorcycle with Bins was seriously injured. Davidson says the men collided with the bus after it entered an intersection. He says speed was believed to be a factor in the crash. One of four students on the bus for McLean Magnet Elementary school suffered minor injuries.
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Ex-Staffer Appointed as Kansas Supreme Court's New Justice
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has named an attorney who said he's similar in temperament to former Chief Justice Lawton Nuss to replace Nuss as a Kansas Supreme Court justice. Lawrence attorney K.J. Wall also formerly worked for the state's highest court overseeing special projects and research for justices in death penalty cases. The 49-year-old Wall was most recently a partner in law firm that represents rural Kansas hospitals and previously worked as an attorney for a Minnesota-based insurance company. He will join a seven-member court that has faced criticism from conservative Republican legislators over abortion, school funding and death penalty rulings.
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KPR's daily headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day. KPR's weekend summary is usually published by 1 pm Saturdays and Sundays.
