8th KS COVID-19 case reported in Franklin County. Officials declare state of disaster
An eighth presumed positive case of COVID-19 in Kansas was confirmed in Franklin County, Kansas, Saturday afternoon.
County officials published a news release Saturday announcing the case and a state of local disaster for the county, which is about 55 miles southwest of Kansas City.
State health officials confirmed the case in a public update later in the day.
County officials declined to provide details about the case, however, the release said they believe anyone who came in close contact with the patient has been quarantined.
The county is calling for the cancellation of all events with more than 100 attendees.
The case is the eighth in the state and the first in Franklin County.
On Thursday, Gov. Laura Kelly issued a state of emergency after a 70-year-old man who lived in a long-term care facility in Wyandotte County was posthumously diagnosed with the virus.
The man, who lived in a facility run by the same company that owns a home in Seattle where 22 people died of the virus, was the first case of community transmission in the state. He had not traveled outside the state or had contact with anyone known to have the virus.
Since March 7, five cases have been confirmed in Johnson County. Four of those involved people who had traveled to parts of the United States where the virus was widespread.
The fifth, announced Saturday morning, was the county’s first case of local transmission involving a woman connected to Johnson County Community College
Friday the first case in Wichita was announced at a hospital. The case involved a 72-year-old Butler County man who had recently taken a cruise.
The state of Missouri, which has four confirmed cases, has also declared a state of emergency.
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 2:00 PM.
