The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System continues to rise. 36 patients are being treated for the virus, up from 35 Friday and 22 a week ago. 10 are in the ICU, down from 12 on Friday. Six patients are on ventilators, up from four on Friday. Doctors say even with discharges, the daily number has still been trending higher for the last week or so.
Doctors from Children’s Mercy joined the discussion to talk about COVID-19 in the classroom and kids with chronic conditions. Dr. Angie Myers, Division Director of Infectious Diseases and Dr. Jennifer Goldman, pediatric infectious diseases are the guests. Also joining the conversation, Psychologist Dr. Danielle Johnson with The University of Kansas Health System to address anxiety in children who may be afraid to go back to school. She offered tips on coping and getting them prepared. Also, Chelsea Smith from the Community Blood Center said the blood supply has increased slightly to a 3-4-day supply, but it’s still short of the need. She had information on a blood drive on the KU Medical Center campus
Dr. Johnson said most kids are feeling anxious about returning to school…as are many parents. Her advice for parents is to talk with their children, find out their concerns and assure them that the grown-ups will take care of all the big stuff in their lives, while they just need to focus on things they can control, like mask wearing, social distancing and hand hygiene. She says kids need the social support they get in school and have been missing since the pandemic began in March. She’s noticed a sad trend of more kids trying to take their own lives and talked about what some of those survivors are telling her. She also had advice on how to convince others to wear a mask in public and says being confrontational doesn’t usually work.
Dr. Goldman says in-person schooling is a very hot topic and feels it can be done safely as long as schools do everything to minimize the risks. Those actions include screening everyone for illness, universal masking, distancing and hand washing. She says it’s also important for school nurses to have plenty of PPE. She noted that kids generally follow school rules and will model the right behavior of teachers and peers. She says rapid testing will be important for all schools and pointed out that schools in Europe and Australia have already successfully resumed classes. She also explored theories on why new data from South Korea shows kids nine and under have low transmission rates, even in their own households.
Dr. Myers talked about what teachers need to do to keep safe, especially those working with special needs kids. She says those children who previously had Kawasaki disease are not any more likely to get COVID-19 than others. Same for those with asthma, those who are immunocompromised or with otherwise high-risk conditions. She had advice for parents caring for young children with the virus and says convincing kids to wear masks and constantly wash their hands is no big deal as long as they see the adults doing it.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, shared news that the FDA has just given emergency use approval for KU students to receive a saliva test for COVID-19 when returning to campus this fall. He also addressed how teachers who may be vulnerable can cope with going back to the classroom. He said countries with more containment of the disease than the United States have been successful at resuming school and says we can reverse the recent upward trend by wearing masks, physically distancing and keeping our hands washed. He agrees coercing people on our own to wear masks won’t work and that businesses must enforce the policy.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, says the battle over whether to wear a mask is not a political issue but a medical issue. He said the science proves that observing the pillars of social responsibility will reverse the recent spike in cases and stressed we must all do the things that work for ourselves and for each other.
Tuesday, July 21 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. David Smith, MD, Youth Sports Medicine Medical Director and KSHHAA Advisory Committee Member is back to answer questions related to fall sports and update how the summer of sports during a pandemic. Chris Wilson, VP System Integration and Innovation will talk about how the health system consulted with KU sports and getting back to school.
ATTENTION: media procedure for calling in:
The meeting is available by Zoom, both video and by phone. To join the Zoom Meeting by video, click https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
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For those without Zoom, call 1-253-215-8782, meeting ID: 782 897 8628.
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