Kansas Health Officials: Wyandotte County Man Dead from Coronavirus, 3 New Cases Identified In Johnson County
A man in his 70s who lived in a long-term care facility in Wyandotte County has become the state's first known death from coronavirus. That's according to state health officials who spoke Thursday night. The man was not among the state's official count of cases, which had risen to four earlier in the day. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly also has declared a state of emergency, which gives the government more power to marshal resources and triggers the state's response plan. The Wyandotte County man was admitted to Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, on Tuesday and died Wednesday morning. A postmortem test found the COVID-19 virus. Health officials believe that he was infected by someone who came into the long-term care facility, which would mean it's the first confirmed case of local transmission. That means the virus is circulating in the community.
The man was not among the state's official count of coronavirus cases, which had risen to four earlier in the day. At that time, health officials reported three new coronavirus cases, all of them in Johnson County. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the new cases were not related to the first case, a Johnson County woman under 50. The three new cases are all men who had gone to the same conference in Florida. Officials didn’t say which conference the men attended, though they all came back to the area in late February and showed symptoms in early March.
Relatively few COVID-19 cases have been identified in Kansas compared with other states. COVID-19 usually causes mild to moderate symptoms, like a fever or cough. Most people with mild symptoms recover in two weeks. More severe cases, found in older adults and people with compromised immune systems, can have up to six weeks’ recovery time.
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Jim McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service. Reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of Kansas Public Radio, KCUR, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio - focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
