‘Avoid further shutdowns’: KC health officials make plea to curb COVID-19 spread

Local health department officials from four areas in and around Kansas City that have seen increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations urged residents, in a letter released Friday, to adhere to safety precautions in order to slow the virus’ spread.

Leaders from the “Core 4” areas — Jackson County, Johnson County, Kansas City and Wyandotte County — emphasized the importance of following mask mandates, social distancing and limiting group gatherings to relieve health systems, reduce COVID-19 infection rates and keep residents safe.

“As a group, we are thankful to have seen prior efforts successfully mitigate some impacts of this pandemic,” they wrote. “Unfortunately, recent data suggests that we are now again losing the battle with COVID-19.”

Officials wrote that frontline workers, whose jobs include disease investigation, contact tracing and educational support for those affected by the virus, have been overwhelmed because of the climbing coronavirus case numbers in the region and the increase in hospitalizations, which officials said is higher than numbers in March and April.

“We are extremely concerned that hospitalizations will continue to escalate in the coming weeks and months,” officials said, “and that the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 will lead to increasing ventilator use and deaths. Despite hoping this would not occur, we predicted that this was a possibility at some point after the relaxation of the stay-at-home orders.”

Officials encouraged residents to wear masks whenever they are indoors or can’t social distance by 6 feet or more from others to lower infection rates and avoid future shutdowns and restrictions. They emphasized that a national mask mandate could help stop the spread of COVID-19 and lead to more people wearing face coverings when they’re in public.

“If we do not act quickly as a community and region, future shutdowns will be inevitable,” officials said. “It may be important in the coming days to limit the interactions of individuals in bars, restaurants, and other indoor shopping venues — particularly where masks cannot be worn when eating and drinking.”