Missouri COVID-19 cases surge to 183 as doctors call for shelter order; Kansas hits 82
As the novel coronavirus continued to spread across the United States, killing more than 500 by Monday afternoon, Missouri doctors called for a statewide “shelter-in-place” order while Kansas officials limited gatherings to 10 people.
Confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Missouri jumped to 183 by Monday afternoon, up from the 106 that were reported Sunday. In Kansas, confirmed cases rose from 64 to 82 — 32 of which were in Johnson County.
New cases included employees at the Leavenworth VA Medical Center and Kansas City Public Schools. More officials, including in Douglas County, ordered people to stay home. Hand sanitizer dispensers were ripped off walls at Kansas City International Airport.
While Missouri’s cases surged, the Missouri State Medical Association called on Gov. Mike Parson to issue a statewide “shelter-in-place” order, something he said he would not do.
In its letter to Parson, the association, which represents the state’s physicians and surgeons, requested he enact the requirement by executive order, saying it would be the “only way to curb exponential spread” of COVID-19 in the state.
“If things progress as is, COVID-19 patients will deplete the state’s available hospital beds, ventilators and the precious personal protection equipment,” the association wrote in the letter signed by its president, James DiRenna. “Any additional time without a ‘shelter-in-place’ requirement wastes critical healthcare resources, including manpower.”
Medical workers have accepted the likelihood that some will contract the virus, the association said.
“We ask for your assistance as we begin this difficult journey,” the letter ended.
During a news conference Monday, Parson said his social distancing order was sufficient if followed correctly. He noted that a shelter-in-place order would cause businesses to close.
“The effect that has on everyday people are dramatic,” Parson said. “It is important for me to do this day by day.”
Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin agreed. On Facebook, O’Laughlin, a Republican from Shelbina, said she was thankful Parson hasn’t “jumped on the ‘shut everyone down’ mode.”
“I see no time in the history of this country when perfectly healthy people have been basically confined to their homes or only able to do essential things as in Kansas City or St. Louis,” she said Sunday. “Frankly I consider this unconstitutional and it needs challenged.”
Some metro areas in the state, such as Kansas City and St. Louis, have taken matters into their own hands and ordered people to stay home except for essential reasons. Doctors in other parts of Missouri, such as Greene County, have said they would support a shelter-in-place order.
“We must flatten the curve of infection in order to support our hospitals and physicians,” Kayce Morton, president of the Greene County Medical Society, said in a letter to Parson.
The medical association’s request came as Missouri public health officials reported the number of confirmed cases increased. The state’s data showed 69 cases in St. Louis County, 17 in Boone County, 17 in Kansas City, 15 in St. Louis city and 10 in Jackson County.
With the uptick, numerous jurisdictions in the Kansas City region, including Wyandotte, Johnson and Leavenworth counties in Kansas as well as Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass counties in Missouri, have ordered residents to stay home starting 12:01 a.m. Tuesday to limit the virus’ spread.
In Kansas City, that also means City Hall will close to the general public for a month.
Across the state, St. Louis city’s mayor, Lyda Krewson, said the city recorded its first COVID-19 death: A woman in her 30s. It marked Missouri’s fourth COVID-19 death; the others have been reported in Boone, St. Louis and Jackson counties.
“This should be a wake-up call for all of us,” Krewson said, calling on residents to stay home. “(COVID-19) doesn’t care how long you’ve been infected, how you got it or where you’ve been.”
Dr. Fredrick Echols, the city’s director of health, said the case was evidence that young people can become infected and die. The woman who died did not contract the virus through travel, he said.
“This is a serious matter,” he said. “No one is exempt from getting COVID-19.”
Among the state’s cases included a relative of a St. Louis Blues employee who was now in isolation with family. The hockey team said all Blues staff who may have had contact with the employee were notified.
Additional cases were identified over the weekend in Clinton County and Johnson County, Missouri, where a non-military member at Whiteman Air Force Base, about 70 miles southeast of Kansas City, tested positive.
In Fulton, Missouri, nine students at William Woods University have tested positive for the virus. They have self-isolated on campus, according to the health department in Callaway County.
In Kansas, state data showed there were now at least 16 confirmed cases in Wyandotte County, eight in Douglas County and five in Leavenworth County. There have been two deaths.
Gov. Laura Kelly said she will issue an executive order that limits gatherings to 10 people, rescinding her previous order that capped gatherings at 50.
The governor, however, ruled out a statewide stay-at-home order issued by a dozen other state chief executives, including in California, Illinois, New York, Ohio, West Virginia and Delaware. Such orders will be left up to county leadership because 89 of the state’s 105 counties did not have a confirmed case, she said.
“The crisis continues to evolve by the hour,” she said, “and a statewide stay-at-home order may indeed become unavoidable in the coming days.”
Kansas’ testing strategy has also changed, said Lee Norman, the state’s health and environment secretary. Healthcare workers and first responders who may be exposed to COVID-19 will get priority to testing, he said.
Also prioritized will be hospitalized patients with unknown respiratory illnesses, people older than 60 who live in large-group settings and those with underlying health conditions.
“We’re refining the diagnostic criteria just a little bit in order to test more strategically,” Norman said.
On Friday, Norman said Kansas was running “precariously low” on test kits. That situation had since improved, he said Monday. About 500 more test kits came in Saturday. Colleges and university research labs have also provided another 200 test kits.
Nationwide, there were more than 42,800 confirmed cases and 570 deaths as of Monday afternoon, according to a database maintained by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there were more than 370,000 cases and 16,400 deaths.
The Associated Press and Star reporters Caitlyn Rosen, Nicole Asbury and Allison Kite contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 3:11 PM.
