Kansas lawmaker posts purported summary of Kelly’s reopening plan. Here’s what it says

Gov. Laura Kelly will outline a phased-in approach to reopening Kansas that will allow some businesses to resume operations while maintaining social distancing, according to a purported high-level summary shared publicly by a state lawmaker.

Rep. Stephen Owens, a Hesston Republican, posted on Facebook a three-page, bullet-point summary of what he said is the Democratic governor’s reopening plan on Thursday morning. Kelly will outline her plan in a televised speech at 6:30 p.m.

Kelly’s plan is highly anticipated, after Kansas has been under a state of semi-lockdown for weeks to control the spread of the coronavirus. More than 3,700 people have tested positive for the disease and 125 have died.

According to the summary, counties will have wide latitude to impose their own rules as long as they are more strict than the statewide orders. Local officials across the state have been intensely plotting their approaches in recent days.

It’s unclear how closely the summary will match what Kelly ultimately announces Thursday evening, but some of the language in the document reflects what the governor has said publicly. It also mirrors her expressed intention to reopen the state gradually.

Republican lawmakers have pressured Kelly to move toward reopening, drawing attention to the economic devastation the virus and the resulting shutdowns have caused. More than 100,000 residents have lost work since the pandemic began.

“Kansas deserves information as soon as its available. People’s livelihoods are at stake,” Owens wrote. “I received a copy of the Govs re-opening plan this morning from an anonymous source. I have no reason to doubt it’s legitimacy.”

The pages posted by Owens are labeled “CONFIDENTIAL” and “NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION.”

The governor’s office didn’t immediately comment.

According to the document, Kelly’s plan reopens Kansas in phases, but the pages posted by Owens only describe phase one. An executive order will set the “outer perimeter” for local governments, the document says.

“Local units cannot be less restrictive than the executive order, but they can be more restrictive,” the document says, adding the only exception is for businesses deemed essential.

Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner said he anticipated that.

“I believe in her plan she’s going to allow the counties and local governments to be more restrictive if we want to be. I don’t think we could be less restrictive,” Meitzner said Thursday at a news conference with Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple.

As an example, Meitzner said Kelly and the county could disagree on when to allow hair salons to reopen.

“If she says, for instance, hairdressers need to wait a week, or 10 days, we can’t come out and say, ‘no, hairdressers, you’re fine,’” Meitzner said. “But we could say, if she said hairdressers shouldn’t be allowed (to reopen) -- because it’s one on one contact -- for a week, we could make it more strict, saying no, we think two weeks, if we wanted to.”

He said the mood of the county commission and county health officer was “generally supportive of sticking our toe back in the water in a very cautious way and see what happens.”

Meitzner said if dialing back the restrictions leads to a substantial increase in spread of the coronavirus, the county will be able to restore provisions of the current stay-at-home order to deal with the situation.

The undated document said that before moving on to the next phase, Kelly will evaluate a range of indicators, including the spread of the coronavirus, testing rates, death rates, hospitalizations and the availability of personal protective equipment. Also important will be the ability of health officials to contain outbreaks and conduct contact tracing.

Each phase will include a mass gathering limit, which will be 10 people during phase one, according to the document.

“All businesses not specifically identified in each phase of the re-opening plan will be allowed to re-open unless a local unit of government issues an order prohibiting such businesses from opening,” the document says.

The list of businesses that won’t be allowed to open will be released “tomorrow (Thursday),” the document reads, a possible sign it was drafted on Wednesday.

Specifics in the document

Businesses that open must maintain at least six feet of distance between consumers. They must also avoid groups of more than 10 individuals that are unable to maintain a six-foot distance.

“This does not limit the total occupancy of a business, but requires that businesses limit mass gatherings in areas and instances in which physical distancing cannot be maintained, such as in tables, entrances, lobbies, break rooms, check-out areas, etc,” the document says.

In the first phase, individuals will be “strongly encouraged” to wear cloth masks and maintain social distancing in public. High-risk individuals will be advised to remain at home except for “essential functions.”

The document doesn’t define who is high-risk, but those typically included in that category are the elderly and individuals with underlying health conditions.

“It seems like we’re going to be able to reopen many businesses,” Owens said in an interview. “There’s still a list of excluded businesses that weren’t attached, so that will have to be released yet this evening. But it appears that a number of businesses are going to be able to get back to work and for that I’m incredibly thankful.”

Owens said he still has some concerns about the size of public gatherings. According to the summary, that will remain at 10 persons or less, with some exceptions.

“My hope is she addresses the gathering size limit and takes into account the ability to social distance, especially at churches and religious gatherings,” he said. “And then hopefully we can begin the process of getting people back to work safely.”

During the first phase, employers are urged to continue encouraging telework when possible. Employers are also advised to avoid groups of more than 10 where social distancing can’t be maintained.

Any employees with symptoms should be required to stay at home, according to the document. Non-essential business travel should be minimized or eliminated.

In-person visits to prisons and nursing homes should be prohibited, the document says. “Those who must interact with residents must adhere to strict protocols regarding hygiene and screening,” it reads.

This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Kansas lawmaker posts purported summary of Kelly’s reopening plan. Here’s what it says."