Kansas City’s COVID-19 ‘perfect storm’ threatens lives, schools, Thanksgiving dinners
COVID-19 is absolutely crushing it in Kansas City with record infections, pushing the limits on hospital capacity and staffing and prompting school officials to perhaps question in-person classes.
You may even want to revisit your Thanksgiving plans.
“What you’re hearing and what is being reported is a surge like no other,” says Chris Hamele, HCA Midwest associate vice president of public relations and community outreach.
At The University of Kansas Health System on Monday, a record 68 coronavirus patients were hospitalized, and 26 patients were in intensive care with 14 on ventilators. Cases skyrocketed by nearly 6,000 over the weekend in Kansas. At least one area private school, Ascension Catholic School in Overland Park, has shifted to full remote learning after two teachers tested positive and five others had to quarantine. Area health departments are advising school districts not to allow indoor sports such as basketball and wrestling.
“This is what we had feared,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, the health system’s medical director of infection prevention and control.
“We could be building temporary hospitals in Johnson County,” Commissioner Jim Allen warned residents. “That’s how serious it is.”
Why is it so much worse than even the pandemic’s start in spring? A combination of factors, including the end of lockdowns, safety protocol fatigue, businesses and schools opening up and, to some extent, rebelliousness by the young and the anti-mask crowd.
Now you have not just the perfect storm, but perhaps the hurricane — which is holidays,” Hamele said.
Health officials are certainly concerned about the potential for even greater infections in two weeks at Thanksgiving, the kickoff of what promises to be a hazardous holiday season.
“It’s still nice out,” Hawkinson said. “Wait until Thanksgiving and Christmas when it’s not nice out, and people aren’t going to really be doing anything outdoors. And getting together all indoors.”
Special meeting for Shawnee Mission schools
The Shawnee Mission Board of Education has called a special public meeting with area health officials for 6 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the crisis. While a spokesperson wouldn’t speculate on what the board might do as a result of the briefing, the board would be remiss not to revisit in-person classes.
Likewise avoiding speculation, a Johnson County Department of Health and Environment spokesperson told The Star on Monday, “The school districts decide what is best for their students, families and staff.”
The health department took pains to say in a release last week that, “It’s important to note the spike in cases is not being driven by schools, but activity within the community.” Still, it said, “Due to the data JCDHE is seeing, the recommended phase for school gating criteria has been updated to the Red Zone.”
Indeed, Dr. Sanmi Areola, director of the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment, told commissioners last Thursday that the county had seen a rise of 2,371 cases in just the previous two weeks.
As for hospital capacity, it’s not just the population here we need to worry about. Kansas City hospitals take in patients from a wide area, and from rural hospitals unable to cope with the disease. And the amount of care required for someone in the ICU is staggering, and takes an immeasurable toll on the health care professionals involved.
Regarding Thanksgiving, county officials and health care professionals urge us all to be prudent and not gather with people outside our daily bubbles. The Johnson County health department warned pointedly that new cases are largely the result of social gatherings, including football watch parties, birthday parties, camps, weddings and church events. The department is advising against social gatherings for the time being, regardless of their size.
Olevia Pitts, chief medical officer of HCA Midwest’s Research Medical Center, says she misses hugs and high fives as much as anyone. But forgoing them this Thanksgiving could mean loved ones being around for Thanksgiving 2021.
“This is not going to be forever,” Pitts says. “We’re just going to have to weather the storm and protect each other while we get through this. There is going to be an other side.”
But until then, we’ll have to think about what else we might be passing to others along with the potatoes.