The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System took a big jump today. 30 patients are being treated for the virus, up from 25 yesterday. 12 are in the ICU, up from 8 yesterday. Two patients are on ventilators, same as yesterday. Doctors say these numbers are “really concerning.” They began the briefing with a graphic from the Kansas Hospital Association showing the rapidly rising numbers across the state of people infected with the virus.
KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman joined from Topeka to discuss what’s next as COVID-19 cases are again on the rise.
Dr. Norman, an Army veteran, says this statewide battle feels like an Army deployment. When asked how things are looking from his standpoint, he had one word: “Awful!” He said we were winning the fight but on May 26 everything started to change. That’s when the phased-in plan for reopening the state was removed and, in his words, “That’s when we lost control of the state.” He noted this past Monday there were 1500 new cases just since last Friday. “We have fumbled the ball, people, and that’s the bottom line,” he said. “Mass gatherings occurring, soccer tournaments are occurring. So is sporting. We have three bars in one town associated with 94 cases and I’m sure that will triple. So, everything was within our grasp and we are fumbling it because of inattentiveness and politics and it’s just got to stop otherwise we’re just going to see this continued rise.” He says we’re in a lot different place compared to when we peaked in late April. He says the good news is a Harvard study shows Kansas is in the top dozen states for testing per capita, but testing labs are being flooded, causing longer turnaround times for the tests. He says to keep from closing down the state again we need to test every person who needs a test, hospitals need to be able to handle the surge, healthcare workers need to have adequate PPE and avoid mass gatherings. “Mass gatherings are evil, and I don’t care what kind of mass gathering they are, they’re just inherently evil. We’re seeing sadness on top of sadness. We’ve seen quite a number of illnesses and quite a few deaths from attending funerals. People shake hands at funerals and give hugs and kisses at funerals. Bad idea and sadness on top of sadness.”
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, said anyone who tells you this is just the flu doesn’t know what they’re talking about. He says the flu doesn’t put this many people in the hospital. He believes we all want a return to normalcy so bad we’ve forgotten there’s a pandemic. He says we can stop it by wearing masks. He explained how we breathe out a cloud of particles, and the virus is in those particles. If we can stop the cloud, he says we can keep each other safe and businesses can reopen. He also feels as long as they can do it safely, schools should be able to reopen. He reminded us that with freedom comes responsibility.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, said the health system, as well as all hospitals around the country, is beginning to receive fewer doses of remdesivir, a drug that’s helped lessen the duration of the virus, because it’s being spread throughout the country. He said it’s now been medically proven that masks work to stop the spread of COVID-19. He pointed to the CDC Journal MMWR which just published an article about the Springfield, MO hairstylists who had COVID-19 but didn’t spread it to any customers because they wore masks. He said he’s heard many people who have contracted the disease say they wish they had paid attention to the medical advice and worn a mask and kept away from crowds.
Thursday, July 16 at 8:00 a.m. is the next daily briefing call. KU Chancellor Dr. Doug Girod is back in the studio to talk about getting back to campus and how COVID-19 guidelines are working … what is most challenging and expectations for the fall.
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
Telephone dial-in Participants:
For those without Zoom, call 1-253-215-8782, meeting ID: 782 897 8628.
The feed is also available via TVU grid. The TVU source is UoK_Health and is being made available to all.
Feel free to send questions in advance to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.
