The number of COVID-19 patients is down today at The University of Kansas Health System. 21 are hospitalized, down from 26 yesterday. Eight patients are in the ICU, down from 9 yesterday. Two patients are on ventilators, down from 3 yesterday. 23 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase. That’s up from 21 yesterday. In addition, HaysMed reports 17 inpatients, with 15 actively sick and two recovering but no longer infectious. Doctors say overall the 7-day average is above 300 in the Metro area, when it had been down to around 250 just a few weeks ago.
Joining the panel today were Patrick Sallee, CEO of Vibrant Health and Juliann Van Liew, director Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK Public Health. Together they updated the virus spread in the Dotte including the death toll which shows significant racial disparity.
Juliann Van Liew shared the sobering news that the death rate from COVID-19 in Wyandotte County is 5 times higher than Eastern Jackson County and 4 times higher than Kansas City, Missouri and Johnson County, Kansas. She presented evidence showing how COVID-19 is hitting Wyandotte County harder than most areas. The reasons, she says, are poorer baseline health outcomes, more preexisting medical problems, economics and the many types of jobs where people are in close contact and can’t always stay home when they’re sick. She explains that barriers to care like language, transportation and cost force many in the community to get care later than they should. She’s concerned about schools and says 7 classrooms are currently quarantined. She says it’s important if your children show any symptoms of illness that they stay home. She also advised against playing high school basketball, saying because it’s indoors and is such a close contact sport, it puts everyone in the building at risk. She also said she was “incredibly nervous” about a viewer who planned an outdoor wedding with 100 guests. She said there have been dozens of cases of COVID-19 in the area directly related to weddings and funerals. She says one of the biggest problems is the food and drink, and once the masks come off for that they rarely go back on. She also said it’s not safe for schools that allow students to take their masks off as long as they are socially distanced.
Patrick Sallee said his organization has been busy giving COVID-19 tests, especially with school starting. He’s now hearing from parents with children who may have been exposed at school. He reports many businesses in Wyandotte County are getting training in how to help staff and customers better comply with mask wearing and social distancing. His best advice is if you have symptoms, get tested as soon as possible.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, addressed the effectiveness of ultraviolet light machines to fight the virus, saying they are expensive and take time to use. They are not the “silver bullet,” he says. He discussed the right time for donating plasma if you’ve been infected with COVID-19, which is three to four weeks after your initial infection. He said wearing just a face shield, like the so-called welder’s mask, is not adequate protection unless a mask is also being worn. He said there is no stigma to getting COVID-19 and the virus is out there. The best way to fight it, he says, is diligently following the pillars of infection prevention by wearing a mask, socially distancing and avoiding large crowds.
Friday, September 25 at 8:00 a.m. is the next morning media update. Amanda Gartner, Director of Quality and Safety at the health system joins Dr. Hawkinson to help answer community questions.
ATTENTION: media procedure for calling in:
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