COVID-19 news: Rare illness strikes children; Johnson County city won’t require masks
Children’s Mercy now has a second patient with a rare inflammatory illness possibly linked to COVID-19.
The hospital said last week it was treating its first patient for the syndrome. One patient remains in the hospital’s Adele Hall Campus, spokeswoman Lisa Augustine said Tuesday.
Officials at St. Louis Children’s Hospital have reported cases as well.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the illness a name: MIS-C, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. The federal agency has asked health care providers to alert local and state health departments of cases in patients younger than 21.
Battling for unemployment benefits
For eight weeks, Kansans trying to file for unemployment benefits have jammed the phone lines of the state’s labor department. Many have been on hold for hours. Others are unable to even make it that far.
As weeks turn into months, frustrations are boiling over among laid-off and furloughed workers who have been unable to cut through what feels like an impenetrable barrier in the quest to obtain financial aid.
Republican lawmakers are holding up the problems as an example of failure by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration. One GOP senator has gone as far as suggesting the state official overseeing the unemployment response should resign.
Kelly has responded by condemning “political cheap shots” and pointing to the progress that’s been made in responding to levels of unemployment unseen since the Great Depression.
No mandatory face masks in Prairie Village
The Prairie Village City Council decided against an ordinance that would have required everyone to wear masks inside businesses — an issue that many officials said was among the most divisive they have ever discussed.
The City Council on Monday night voted 5-7 against the ordinance, which was first proposed by Councilwoman Jori Nelson. She cited health experts’ opinions that reopening businesses will lead to a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, and argued that wearing masks is one of the easiest ways for residents to help mitigate the spread of the disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing cloth face coverings, especially in public where social distancing measures are difficult to follow.
“There are strong passionate views on both sides of this issue, here in Prairie Village and across the country right now,” Mayor Eric Mikkelson said. “We’ve had some controversial issues over the years, but I think this one has resulted in the largest amount of email traffic we’ve seen on any one issue.”
Many cities and states, such as Illinois and New York, have required residents to wear masks in businesses to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But those laws have at times become a flashpoint across the country, and the choice to wear a mask has become increasingly politicized — a point that many council members made before voting against such a law in Prairie Village.
