COVID-19 news: Kansas reports 13 coronavirus deaths, area unemployment numbers double
Johnson County reported its fourth coronavirus-related death Thursday morning as thousands more residents of Missouri and Kansas found themselves out of work because of the pandemic.
The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment announced the death of a man in his 40s. He was the 11th COVID-19-related death in Kansas. Four deaths have also reported in Wyandotte County, plus one each in Coffey, Crawford and Shawnee counties.
Hours later, Kansas state officials would report a total of 13 people have died across the state. More than 550 have tested positive for the virus.
In Missouri, where about three times as many people have been tested, state health officials said 1,581 people have tested positive. Eighteen have died.
The number of people in Kansas and Missouri who have filed new unemployment claims has more than doubled, according to numbers released Thursday. Nearly 160,000 people in both states filed new claims in the week ending March 28.
Kansas reported 55,428 new unemployment claims, up from 23,925 the week before. Missouri reported 104,230 new unemployment claims, up from 42,207 the week prior. Call centers in both states have been overwhelmed by the number of the newly unemployed.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported a record of 6.6 million seasonally adjusted intial unemployment claims.
Wednesday evening, Jackson County officials reversed a previous order for Bass Pro Shops to close, after the company appealed the county’s decision. Bass Pro Shops cited a Missouri law prohibiting restrictions of firearm sales during an emergency.
The businesses will only be allowed to sell firearms, ammunition and “other goods directly related to responsible firearm storage and maintenance,” according to a statement released by the county.
Kansas City nurses on Wednesday evening stood outside of an emergency room to survey a small sampling of their peers, asking whether they had enough personal protective equipment, if COVID-19 patients were being properly isolated and if the hospital was providing adequate testing.
The nurses overwhelmingly agreed: No, to everything.
The group of nurses gathered to call out their parent company, HCA Midwest Health, and said it hasn’t properly equipped them for the fight. Members of National Nurses United protested in seven states this week against what they say is the hospital chain’s lack of preparedness.
The hospital chain rebutted the complaints in a statement, saying its “top priority is to protect our front line clinicians and caregivers, so they are able to continue to provide high-quality care for our patients and our community now and in the future.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 12:46 PM.
