COVID-19 update: 3 counties set May 11 to reopen, KC sees largest 1 day case growth
Jackson County announced Friday it will join Johnson and Wyandotte counties in beginning a phased reopening of its economy, the day after Kansas City saw its largest one-day increase in case numbers.
The county’s announcement also came a day after Johnson and Wyandotte counties’ public health officers extended their shutdowns by a week and was aimed at reducing confusion over when nonessential businesses can reopen.
All three counties have separate plans in development dictating when certain types of businesses can reopen and with what restrictions, though there are many similarities.
In Clay, Platte and Cass counties, shutdown orders end after Sunday. Kansas and Missouri statewide shutdown orders also end then.
“We believe we’ve passed the peak of the cases of deaths and hospitalizations,” said Allen Greiner, chief medical officer for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
The plan for Kansas
In Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly will allow some businesses to reopen next week, provided they maintain social distancing and limit crowds to fewer than 10.
Kansas will start the first of a four-phase reopening plan on Monday.
“Kansas will approach this process slowly, gradually and cautiously,” Kelly said.
Bars, theaters, museums, gyms and hair salons will remain closed. Also not allowed are organized sports, community swimming pools, festivals, parades and graduation ceremonies.
While restaurants can begin offering dine-in service, no more than 10 people can sit at a table. Tables must be 6 feet apart. Back-to-back booths are allowed with barriers between them.
The following phases will roll back additional restrictions.
Kansas City sees largest single-day increase
The Kansas City metro area on Thursday reported its largest single-day increase of COVID-19 cases with 104 reported cases. This was the first triple-digit jump in cases in the metro.
Across Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, 2,111 cases have been identified and 124 people have died.
More than half of the increase came from 58 new cases in Wyandotte County. Kansas City accounted for 25 of Thursday’s new cases.
Increased testing capacity was one reason for the rise in cases, said a Janell Friesen, spokeswoman for the Unified Government’s public health department.
There are also 10 locations identified as cluster sites, one of the most severe at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation in Kansas City, Kansas, where 32 people have died.
There have been 4,449 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 130 people have died in Kansas as of Friday afternoon.
In Missouri, there have been 7,562 confirmed cases and 329 deaths as of Thursday afternoon.
