COVID-19 news: Kansas relaxed meatpacking rules; KC considers more restaurant seating
After industry executives repeatedly raised the issue with the state’s top agricultural official, Kansas relaxed its quarantine guidelines so meatpacking workers potentially exposed to the coronavirus could stay on the job.
Text messages and emails obtained by The Kansas City Star and The Wichita Eagle show that executives at Tyson and National Beef, which employ thousands at massive plants in southwest Kansas, pushed back at Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam over the guidelines.
As the number of workers who tested positive for COVID-19 climbed, the companies drew Beam’s attention to more lenient guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The sooner we get the CDC new guidance in place the better,” National Beef chief operating officer Terry Wilkerson texted Beam on April 20, adding he had just heard two meatpacking plants elsewhere in the country were shutting down.
Ultimately, Kansas — which processes more than a quarter of the nation’s beef — shifted its guidance to align more closely with the federal agency as COVID-19 swept through the state’s plants.
Nearly 2,000 people have been infected from outbreaks linked to the state’s meatpacking plants and six people have died.
Wyandotte County adds testing
Officials in Wyandotte County announced Tuesday expanded eligibility for COVID-19 testing for people who live or work in the county.
In addition, more pop-up testing sites will also be set up across the county in the next two weeks, the Unified Government Public Health Department announced in partnership with the county’s Health Equity Task Force.
Drive-through testing sites are scheduled through the month of May. The testing is held in coordination with Vibrant Health and Swope Health, and is provided free of charge to Wyandotte County residents.
Anyone who is looking to be tested at any of these locations is asked to register in advance by calling 913-371-9298.
The health department also offers drive-through and walk-up testing 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the parking lot at 619 Ann Ave. No appointment is needed.
Expansion of outdoor eating considered
Kansas City restaurants may soon be able to expand into parking lots, streets and sidewalks to accommodate more patrons outside during the coronavirus pandemic after a panel signed off on the idea Tuesday.
The city’s restaurants are currently only allowed to serve patrons at tables spaced 10 feet apart, and they must follow a host of other safety standards. To boost the industry, which has suffered because of social-distancing requirements and stay-at-home orders, the city may let restaurants expand outdoors to serve more customers.
Last week, Mayor Quinton Lucas, Councilwoman Andrea Bough and Councilman Eric Bunch introduced three pieces of legislation that would allow restaurants to apply for temporary permits to run street cafes or “parklets.”
The Alcohol Beverage Advisory Group, which makes recommendations to the City Council, signed off on the proposals — with some recommended changes — Tuesday.
A City Council committee was expected to consider the issue Wednesday.
