COVID-19 update: Johnson County reports 3rd death; KC’s Big Slick Weekend canceled
A third person in Johnson County has died from COVID-19, health officials reported Tuesday, raising the number of people in Kansas who have died from the disease to nine.
Around the Kansas City area, the coronavirus pandemic continued to disrupt life, as it has across the country, resulting in the cancellation of the annual Big Slick Celebrity Weekend charity event, causing the upcoming Kansas Democratic primary to be conducted by mail only, and prompting calls to protect the safety of people who are incarcerated.
In Johnson County, the number of positive coronavirus cases has climbed to 127, up from 116 on Monday, officials reported. The county said that it has 1,258 people test negative for the virus.
On Monday, the Board of County Commissioners agreed to spend $400,000 on additional tests.
Meanwhile, the number of cases in Wyandotte County rose again, reaching at least 75 cases, according to county health officials.
That was an increase of eight new cases from Monday. The number of deaths in the county remained at four. The county has another 38 cases where it’s been determined that those people likely have the disease but have not been tested. That determination is based on the symptoms the people have self reported.
They have been told to isolate at home just as if they had tested positive for the disease.
In Kansas, 368 people have tested positive for the disease and nine have died. In Missouri, 1,031 people have tested positive for the virus. There have been 13 deaths.
Celebrity fundraiser for Children’s Mercy canceled
The Big Slick Celebrity Weekend, a fundraiser for Children’s Mercy Hospital, has been canceled for this year.
Actors Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Rob Riggle, Eric Stonestreet and David Koechner had planned to return to Kansas City to host celebrity friends at the fundraiser that was scheduled for June.
But because of fears over the spread of the coronavirus, organizers announced on Tuesday the event was canceled.
This would have been the 11th year for the event, which has raised more than $10 million over its run. The fundraiser is expected to return in 2021.
The event is one of Children’s Mercy’s largest fundraisers. Donations to Children’s Mercy can be made at bigslickkc.org.
Mail-in ballots to be used for Kansas Democratic primary
Kansas Democrats will have to use a mail-in ballot instead of voting in person during the party’s May 2 presidential primary because of concerns over the coronavirus.
The party announced Monday it was moving to the mail-only primary in part because more than 10 percent of its polling locations had already canceled their contracts citing safety concerns.
“Removing our in-person voting locations for the 2020 Primary was an extremely difficult decision to make but the unprecedented gravity of COVID-19 has required significant changes to our operations to ensure the safety of all Kansans during this electoral process,” state party chair Vicki Hiatt said in a statement.
The party was set to begin sending the ballots out on Monday. They should be mailed back so that they are received by May 2.
Democrats will be choosing between former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Missouri doctors, advocates call for the release of prisoners
Medical professionals, the Missouri State Public Defender, the ACLU of Missouri, the state NAACP, professors and the sheriff of St. Louis have recently called on the Missouri Supreme Court to order judges to immediately release certain detainees in county jails.
They are seeking the release of those serving time for misdemeanor offenses and municipal or probation violations, as well as inmates considered to be high-risk for serious illness or death.
“Action now can avoid death, suffering and the creation of hundreds more contagious individuals desperately looking for beds in an overburdened healthcare system,” the letter said. “When COVID-19 enters Missouri jails, the results will be devastating.”
The Missouri Supreme Court on Monday sent all state judges a letter leaving the decisions about the release to the discretion of local judges.
As of Monday, one Missouri Department of Corrections inmate and one officer had tested positive for the virus. A juvenile at a Division of Youth Services facility in St. Louis was also infected.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 1:05 PM.
