Kansas Reports More than 4,700 Cases; Ford County Leads the State with 770 Cases
As of this (SAT) morning, state health officials reported 4,746 cases of COVID-19, including 131 deaths. Cases have been reported in 80 of the state's 105 counties. Ford County, the home of Dodge City in southwest Kansas, leads the state with more than 770 cases. ( Get the latest COVID-19 numbers for Kansas here.)
- Governor Laura Kelly's Plan to Reopen Kansas
- KPR's Coronavirus Information and Resources Guide
- Live Coverage: Coronavirus in the Kansas City Area
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COVID Outbreak Prompts Kansas to Stop Prison Releases
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Laura Kelly says Kansas began releasing inmates this week as a way to check the spread of coronavirus in its prison system but stopped when an outbreak mushroomed. She said Friday that the outbreak created a danger of returning infected offenders to their communities. Kelly said the Department of Corrections released only six inmates and put them under house arrest for the rest of their sentences. But confirmed coronavirus cases at the Lansing Correctional Facility have skyrocketed among inmates and staff. Meanwhile, her plan for a gradual reopening of the state's economy sparked criticism over its disparate treatment of different businesses.
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TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) The Kansas Department of Corrections reports that one staff member at the El Dorado Correctional Facility has tested postive for COVID-19. This marks the fifth state corrections facility with confirmed cases of the disease. In a press release, KDOC said the staff member is a male over the age of 30, but no further information about him has been released. KDOC reports that they are working with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to determine who the employee has been in close contact with, and is monitoring other staff and residents for COVID symptoms.
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Kansas Governor Unveils Plan to Reopen Kansas; State Will Lift Limits Monday on Many Businesses - but Not All
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly has announced that she will allow many Kansas businesses to reopen next week if they can maintain social distancing. She also said Thursday night that she hopes to lift all state limits on mass gatherings and other restrictions by June 15. Kelly is lifting a statewide stay-at-home order Monday. But her plan won’t allow bars, gyms, theaters, barbershops, hair and nail salons or state-owned casinos to reopen until at least May 18 and local officials will be allowed to impose stricter rules. Meanwhile, the state began testing all inmates at its prison in Lansing because of a growing coronavirus outbreak. Kansas Department of Corrections Secretary Jeff Zmuda announced Friday that there are now five Department of Corrections facilities with confirmed COVID-19 cases, as a staff member tested positive at El Dorado Correctional Facility. Details of the governor's four phase plan to reopen Kansas are now available at a new website: covid.ks.gov.
Get more information about this story: Kansas is Set to Reopen with Restrictions (Includes AUDIO from Governor's Address)
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Kansas Democrats Hold Presidential Primary by Mail
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Democrats are holding their presidential primary today (SAT). Voting began in late March with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders still on the ballot. The party scrapped its plans to have in-person polling places across Kansas because of the coronavirus panemic. Democratic officials say they hope vote counting their party-run presidential primary goes smoothly to show that the state can rely far more heavily on mail ballots later this year in the coronavirus pandemic’s wake.
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Spirit AeroSystems Announces Lay Offs of 1,450 Employees
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Aircraft parts maker Spirit AeroSystems is laying off 1,450 employees because demand for new airplanes has plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic. The Wichita Eagle reports that an email sent to employees says Boeing and Airbus reported their first-quarter financial reports this week and indicated there would be a decline in demand for new airplanes. Spirit is a supplier of parts for both companies. Affected employees in Wichita will start leaving on May 15th but some “may be asked to work during this 60 day period to provide cross training.” Employees working on the defense side will not be affected.
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Survey Shows Optimism even as Economic Index Drops
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The latest survey of supply managers in a nine-state region of the Midwest and Plains shows many have hope for a rebound yet this year, even as the survey's other indices show the coronavirus pandemic has knocked the economy in Middle America for a loop. The Mid-American Business Conditions index released Friday plummeted from March's 46.7 to 35.1 in April — the lowest reading since February 2009. But the confidence index, which gauges supply managers' economic outlook for the next six months, rose to 45.5 from March’s record low 14.5. Any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while scores below 50 suggest decline. The survey covers Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
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Third Arrest Made in Wichita Shooting Death
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police in Wichita have made a third arrest in the shooting death of a man. Television station KSNW reports that police arrested a 28-year-old Wichita man Thursday night who was wanted in the April 23rd death of 30-year-old Blake Mayes. Officers found Mayes on his front porch suffering from a gunshot wound, and he later died at a hospital. Two others, including Mayes girlfriend, 36-year-old Bobbie Williams, and an acquaintance, 51-year-old William Moore, have been charged in Mayes' death. Police say a disturbance involving all four led to one of the suspects shooting Mayes.
