Coronavirus death connected to Kansas City, Kansas church conference in March
At least one coronavirus-related death of a resident from southeast Kansas has been found to be connected to a Kansas City, Kansas, church conference where more than a dozen people have since contracted the virus, according to the state department of health.
As of Tuesday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has identified at least 15 cases associated with the Kansas East Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction’s Ministers and Workers Conference held March 16-22 at the Miracle Temple Church of God in Christ, 2106 Quindaro Blvd. Of the 15 cases, six are patients who have been hospitalized.
In Wyandotte County, where the church is located, the local health department believes 150 to 200 people attended the week-long conference.
Kansas East Jurisdiction, the organizers of the March conference, referred to its previous statement when reached for comment Tuesday evening. It said it notified attendees after it learned of two positive COVID-19 cases.
The state department of health first announced March 31 that multiple people at the event may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. By then, at least seven cases were said to be connected to the church conference.
Kristi Zears, a KDHE spokeswoman, said in an email Tuesday that the death of one Montgomery County, Kansas, resident was found to be connected to the church conference. No further details have been released about the person who died.
Additional cases may be connected as the disease investigation continues, Zears wrote.
Last week, the first two coronavirus deaths were announced in Montgomery County. An April 3 statement from Montgomery County officials said two of the county’s residents, who were reported to have underlying health conditions, were hospitalized out-of-state when they died from the disease. When reached by The Star, the county referred questions about the deaths to KDHE.
Statewide, at least 900 cases of COVID-19 have been identified, and 27 people have died from the disease.
Symptoms for COVID-19 appear two to 14 days after exposure and usually include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Other symptoms that may develop include malaise, sore throat and diarrhea, state and local health officials stated.
Anyone who attended the conference and has developed symptoms consistent with COVID-19 is asked to stay home and report their symptoms by calling their health care provider or local health department.
The Star’s Glenn Rice contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 5:43 PM.
