Coronavirus news in KC region: Thousands file for unemployment as COVID-19 cases grow
The economic impact the new coronavirus will have on Kansas and Missouri is beginning to take shape while the numbers of cases rise and testing labs struggle to keep up.
Data released Thursday said, 42,207 Missourians and 23,925 Kansans have filed for unemployment benefits. That was an increase of more than 961% in Missouri and a 1,200% increase in Kansas. 3.3 million claims were filed nationwide.
Meanwhile, charities are concerned that the mass cancellation of events - including road races - will harm their fundraising efforts.
Kansas surpassed 120 cases Wednesday with Johnson County, the hardest hit area, announcing Thursday that 50 cases had been confirmed. Three people in the state have died from the disease and about 5 percent of tests run came back positive.
The Johnson County number includes two members of a magicians club that attended the same March 5 meeting as Dennis Wilson, the county’s first coronavirus death.
In Missouri, state health officials announced Wednesday that 356 residents had tested positive for the virus. Eight of those had died.
McCrite Plaza at Briarcliff, a Northland nursing home, announced Wednesday night that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19.
“The screening systems in place worked and we feel the risk to other staff and residents is minimal,” director Cassidy McCrite said in a statement.
“This person has not, physically, been in the building since Friday, March 20, 2020, when they were screened at the door and found to have a fever. They were sent home. They had been home for two days prior to that.”
Testing capacity by government labs remains strained in both states as experts and state officials warn that a broad understanding of who has the virus is not yet available.
The contagious virus has infected over 69,000 people in the United States, killing about 1,000, according to a database managed by Johns Hopkins University in New York.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she believes a $2.2 trillion economic relief bill approved by the Senate Wednesday will pass with bipartisan support in the House Wednesday.
If passed, the plan, which includes direct payments to most Americans and expanded unemployment benefits, would be the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history.
The Associated Press and The Star’s Bob Cronkleton, Kevin Hardy, Judy L. Thomas, Pete Grathoff, Kaitlyn Schwers, Lisa Gutierrez and Bryan Lowry contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 11:48 AM.
