COVID-19 news: Kansas City EMT dies of coronavirus; Zoo gets paycheck protection loan
Billy Birmingham, an emergency medical technician with the Kansas City Fire Department, died Monday afternoon from the COVID-19 disease, the fire department announced.
The news came shortly before another death was announced in Wyandotte County, and as the University of Kansas Medical Center says it is looking for health care workers to participate in a nationwide clinical trial of a drug some say could prevent and treat COVID-19.
Birmingham, the medical technician, started with the Metropolitan Ambulance Service in 1998 and had been with the Kansas City Fire Department for the past 10 years. His was the first death of a KC city employee from the coronavirus.
“His passing represents a personal loss to all of us who knew him and cherished both his friendship and professionalism,” Fire Chief Donna Maize said in a news release.
Kansas City will turn on the Firefighter’s Fountain and Memorial at 31st Street and Pennsylvania Avenue today in honor of his life and service. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Wyandotte County reports COVID-19 death
One more person in Wyandotte County has died of complications related to the coronavirus, according to local health officials.
The county, however, didn’t report any new cases in the past 24 hours.
So far, the county has a total of 336 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths, according to data released by county health officials. The number of hospitalized patients remained at 56.
The county has seen the state’s largest COVID-19 outbreak at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation Center in Kansas City, Kansas, where at least a dozen residents have died since the first death linked to the facility occurred on April 5.
So far, 90 residents and 20 staff members have tested positive for the virus.
At least one other COVID-19-related death in Kansas and more than a dozen other confirmed cases are tied to 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.
In Johnson County there have been 14 people who died of COVID-19 and 309 people who have tested positive, as of Monday afternoon.
In Kansas, at least 62 of the 1,376 people who tested positive for the virus have died as of Monday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
KU Med seeks health care workers to try coronavirus drug
The University of Kansas Medical Center is looking for 500 area health care workers to participate in a nationwide clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine, a drug some say could prevent and treat COVID-19.
President Donald Trump has touted the drug as a possible cure after a French study fount it effective for treating coronavirus patients when paired with an antibiotic. There were problems with the study and the antibiotic is no longer used.
“We need to know is this medication safe, first, for health care workers, because there are side effects with every medication we’ve been throwing at our patients,” KU pulmonologist Mario Castro said Monday during a media briefing.
“And we also need to know is it effective? Can it prevent COVID infections in our health care workers?”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients, and doctors nationwide are reporting mixed results.
$2.6 million in aid going to Kansas City area nonprofits
The Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recover Fund announced it will give $2.6 million in aid to more than 50 Kansas City area nonprofits.
The 56 nonprofits receiving the funds support housing, food assistance, access to healthcare and other critical services.
A coalition of governmental, charitable and business organizations hopes to raise $10 million for the Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. It’s led by the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, United Way of Greater Kansas City, Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Greater Kansas City and Mid-America Regional Council.
These are the first grants to be released on a rolling basis as needs are identified. Fundraising will continue.
“The programs and organizations benefiting from this first round of grants are those on the front lines of providing the most urgent of basic needs,” said Brent Stewart, United Way of Greater Kansas City president and CEO, in a news release.
Kansas City Zoo receives Payroll Protection Program loan
The Kansas City Zoo has received a Small Business Administration loan under the Paycheck Protection Program, according to information released by the White House.
The $2.3 million loan has been approved ant the zoo is expected to receive it this week.
The zoo, which has 225 to 245 full and part-time employees, derives its revenue from gate admissions, membership program, food and rides. Because of stay at home orders in the metro, the zoo has been closed to the public.
“It’s just going to allow us to keep our employees working and keep the zoo operational and we’re fully looking forward to the day we can reopen to the public again,” according to Randy Wisthoff, the Zoo’s executive director/chief executive officer in information provided by the White House.
The zoo saw the program as an opportunity to keep fully staffed in its critical departments — animal care, veterinary and facilities teams, according Wisthoff.
“From the day he took office, President Trump has tirelessly championed America’s small businesses, which are the backbone of our national economy and employ half of America’s workforce,” said Meghan Burris, White House Director of Media Affairs.
“Through the CARES Act, the Small Business Administration secured nearly $350 billion to help small businesses during this unprecedented health crisis. The SBA and the Treasury Department are working diligently around the clock to ensure America’s small business owners have access to these funds as quickly as possible.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 12:56 PM.
