By LYNN HORSLEY <a href="https://www.kcur.org/community/2020-05-11/here-is-what-people-can-and-cant-do-as-johnson-and-wyandotte-counties-begin-to-gradually-reopen">Kansas News Service</a>

Johnson and Wyandotte Counties begin to gradually reopen their 
economies on Monday, May 11, following weeks of stringent stay-home 
orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They follow Kansas City, Missouri, which began allowing some non-essential businesses to reopen Wednesday, May 6.

<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-05-06/heres-what-people-can-do-and-not-do-in-kansas-city-missouri-as-stay-at-home-order-partially-lifts" target="_blank">Read KCUR’s “Here’s What People Can Do – And Not Do – In Kansas City, Missouri, As Stay-At-Home Order Partially Lifts”</a>

Health
 officers in Johnson and Wyandotte counties said they thought a May 11 
start date was safer for their communities. They still are strongly 
urging people who are out and about to wear cloth masks in public 
settings.

Johnson County is mostly following Kansas Gov. Laura 
Kelly’s phased approach in reopening statewide, while Wyandotte County 
is taking a more restrictive approach.

In
 Johnson County, here are some of the places that residents and 
customers can start to visit that they couldn’t before. You can read the
 county’s reopening plan <a href="https://jocogov.org/sites/default/files/documents/CMO/Phased%20opening%20in%20Johnson%20County%202.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.

However, here are the things you still can’t do:

Those types of businesses can’t open at least until May 18 under <a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Reopen-Kansas-Framework.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas’ reopening plan.</a> That second phase depends on virus data trends improving.

Johnson County Library is also developing a phased reopening plan and more information will be <a href="https://www.jocolibrary.org/" target="_blank">at the Library’s website.</a>

Wyandotte County has a more gradual plan for reopening. The details can be read <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/RestartWYCOGuidanceDocument043020.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.

In the first phase, most people are still urged to stay at home as much as possible. Here are some important details:

As in Johnson County, many 
businesses and functions will remain closed in the first phase, 
including haircare places, gyms, community centers, libraries, museums 
and entertainment venues.

In Wyandotte County, elective dental procedures are discouraged for now.

Government
 offices remain closed although people can do various services online, 
including vehicle titling and registration. More information is at the <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/auto" target="_blank">Unified Government’s website</a>.

Lynn Horsley is a freelance writer in Kansas City. Follow her on Twitter @LynnHorsley.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589205232552.png" alt="Restaurants and many other mom-and-pop stores in downtown Overland Park will be allowed to open Monday, May 11, with some restrictions still in place. Sam Zeff / KCUR" />
 <figcaption>Restaurants and many other mom-and-pop stores in downtown Overland Park will be allowed to open Monday, May 11, with some restrictions still in place. Sam Zeff / KCUR</figcaption>
 </figure>By LYNN HORSLEY <a href="https://www.kcur.org/community/2020-05-11/here-is-what-people-can-and-cant-do-as-johnson-and-wyandotte-counties-begin-to-gradually-reopen">Kansas News Service</a>Johnson and Wyandotte Counties begin to gradually reopen their 
economies on Monday, May 11, following weeks of stringent stay-home 
orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.They follow Kansas City, Missouri, which began allowing some non-essential businesses to reopen Wednesday, May 6.<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-05-06/heres-what-people-can-do-and-not-do-in-kansas-city-missouri-as-stay-at-home-order-partially-lifts" target="_blank">Read KCUR’s “Here’s What People Can Do – And Not Do – In Kansas City, Missouri, As Stay-At-Home Order Partially Lifts”</a>Health
 officers in Johnson and Wyandotte counties said they thought a May 11 
start date was safer for their communities. They still are strongly 
urging people who are out and about to wear cloth masks in public 
settings.Johnson County is mostly following Kansas Gov. Laura 
Kelly’s phased approach in reopening statewide, while Wyandotte County 
is taking a more restrictive approach.<h2>Johnson County</h2>In
 Johnson County, here are some of the places that residents and 
customers can start to visit that they couldn’t before. You can read the
 county’s reopening plan <a href="https://jocogov.org/sites/default/files/documents/CMO/Phased%20opening%20in%20Johnson%20County%202.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<ol>
 <li>Offices
 such as law firms and advertising agencies that don’t usually serve the
 public can open with social distancing among workers.</li><li>Restaurants can offer dine-in service for parties of 10 or fewer people but tables must be at least 6 feet apart.</li><li>Farmers markets are allowed, with social distancing.</li><li>Retail stores such as clothing and gift shops can serve shoppers, with social distancing.</li><li>Churches can hold services with more than 10 people but social distancing is required between families.</li><li>The motor vehicle offices in Olathe and Mission are open on a limited basis, but reservations are required. (You can make them <a href="https://www.jocogov.org/residents/vehicles" target="_blank">here</a> in order to secure a place in line.) Still, the county strongly urges patrons to conduct as much business online as possible.</li><li>The New Century and Executive airports are also open as of Monday, May 11.</li>
 </ol>However, here are the things you still can’t do:<ol>
 <li>Visit a bar or nightclub except for curbside or carryout.</li><li>Get a haircut or a massage.</li><li>Visit a gym, library, playground or community center.</li><li>Attend a theater or other indoor entertainment venue.</li>
 </ol>Those types of businesses can’t open at least until May 18 under <a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Reopen-Kansas-Framework.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas’ reopening plan.</a> That second phase depends on virus data trends improving.Johnson County Library is also developing a phased reopening plan and more information will be <a href="https://www.jocolibrary.org/" target="_blank">at the Library’s website.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589205343951.png" alt="Businesses like this family owned cupcake store in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, have been closed to walk-in business since the shutdown started in mid-March. Laura Ziegler photo" />
 <figcaption>Businesses like this family owned cupcake store in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, have been closed to walk-in business since the shutdown started in mid-March. Laura Ziegler photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Wyandotte County</h2>Wyandotte County has a more gradual plan for reopening. The details can be read <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/RestartWYCOGuidanceDocument043020.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.In the first phase, most people are still urged to stay at home as much as possible. Here are some important details:<ol>
 <li>Offices, manufacturing and logistical businesses can open with social distancing among workers and customers.</li><li>No
 dine-in restaurant service is allowed and farmers markets are 
discouraged. Carry out and curbside service are allowed with 6-foot 
social distancing, as are food trucks.</li><li>Hotels and motels can operate at no more than 25% capacity.</li><li>Church
 services, including weddings and funerals, can only accommodate 10 
percent of capacity as determined by the fire marshal, and personal 
greetings are discouraged.</li>
 </ol>As in Johnson County, many 
businesses and functions will remain closed in the first phase, 
including haircare places, gyms, community centers, libraries, museums 
and entertainment venues.In Wyandotte County, elective dental procedures are discouraged for now.Government
 offices remain closed although people can do various services online, 
including vehicle titling and registration. More information is at the <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/auto" target="_blank">Unified Government’s website</a>.Lynn Horsley is a freelance writer in Kansas City. Follow her on Twitter @LynnHorsley.

What the reopening of Johnson, Wyandotte counties looks like

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a century’s progress in science, 2020 is looking a lot like 1918.

In the years between two lethal pandemics, one the misnamed Spanish flu, the other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak">COVID-19</a>, the world learned about viruses, cured various diseases, made effective vaccines, developed instant communications and created elaborate public-health networks.

Yet here we are again, face-masked to the max. And still unable to crush an insidious yet avoidable infectious disease before hundreds of thousands die from it.

As in 1918, people are again hearing hollow assurances at odds with the reality of hospitals and morgues filling up and bank accounts draining. The ancient common sense of quarantining is back. So is quackery: Rub raw onions on your chest, they said in 1918. How about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7f0a9a77dad8c8722aa54fef45e8667b">disinfectant in your veins</a>&nbsp;now? mused President Donald Trump, drawing gasps instead of laughs over what he weakly tried to pass off as a joke.

In 1918, no one had a vaccine, treatment or cure for the great flu pandemic as it ravaged the world and killed more than 50 million people. No one has any of that for the coronavirus, either.

Modern science quickly identified&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak">today’s new coronavirus</a>, mapped its genetic code and developed a diagnostic test, tapping knowledge no one had in 1918. That has given people more of a fighting chance to stay out of harm’s way, at least in countries that deployed tests quickly, which the U.S. didn’t.

But the ways to avoid getting sick and what to do when sick are little changed. The failure of U.S. presidents to take the threat seriously from the start also joins past to present.

Trump all but declared victory before infection took root in his country and he’s delivered a stream of misinformation ever since. President Woodrow Wilson’s principal failure was his silence.

Not once, historians say, did Wilson publicly speak about a disease that was killing Americans grotesquely and in huge numbers, even though he contracted it himself and was never the same after. Wilson fixated on America’s parallel fight in World War I like “a dog with a bone,” says John M. Barry, author of “The Great Influenza.”

The suspected ground zero of the Spanish flu ranges from Kansas to China. But it was clear to U.S. officials even in 1918 that it didn’t start in Spain.

The pandemic took on Spain’s name only because its free press ambitiously reported the devastation in the disease’s early 1918 wave while government officials and a complicit press in countries at war — the U.S. among them — played it down in a time of jingoism, censorship and denial.

Like COVID-19, the 1918 pandemic came from a respiratory virus that jumped from animals to people, was transmitted the same way, and had similar pathology, Barry said by email. Social distancing, hand-washing and masks were leading control measures then and now.

<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-opinion-flashback-1918-flu-pandemic-timeline-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">Medical advice from then&nbsp;</a>also resonates today: “If you get it, stay at home, rest in bed, keep warm, drink hot drinks and stay quiet until the symptoms are past,” said Dr. John Dill Robertson, Chicago health commissioner in 1918. “Then continue to be careful, for the greatest danger is from pneumonia or some kindred disease after the influenza is gone.”

In the manner of the day, there just had to be a catchy rhyme in circulation, too: “Cover up each cough and sneeze. If you don’t you’ll spread disease.”

But there were also marked differences between the viruses of 1918 and 2020. The Spanish flu was particularly dangerous to healthy people aged 20 to 40 — the prime generation of military service — paradoxically because of their vibrant immune systems.

When such people got infected, their antibodies went after the virus like soldiers spilling from the trenches of Europe’s killing fields.

“The immune system was throwing every weapon it had at the virus,” Barry said. “The battlefield was the lung. The lung was being destroyed in that battle.”

Young soldiers and sailors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/pandemic-timeline-1918.htm" target="_blank">massed at military camps</a>&nbsp;in the U.S., sailed for Europe on ships stuffed to the gunwales with humanity, fought side by side in the trenches and came home in victory to adoring crowds. The toll was enormous, on them and the people they infected. The Spanish flu could just as easily have been called the U.S. Army or U.S. Navy flu instead. Or the German or British flu, for that matter.

Among those who died in the pandemic was Friedrich Trump, Donald Trump’s paternal grandfather. Among those who contracted it and recovered were the wartime leaders of Britain and Germany as well as of the United States, British and Spanish kings and the future U.S. president, Franklin Roosevelt, when he was assistant Navy secretary.

But the toll was heavier on average people and the poor, crowded in tenements, street cars and sweaty factories.

They could not all live by the words of the 1918 U.S. surgeon general, Rupert Blue: “Keep out of crowds and stuffy places as much as possible. ... The value of fresh air through open windows cannot be overemphasized. ... Make every possible effort to breath as much pure air as possible.”

An estimated 675,000 Americans died in the pandemic, which is thought to have infected one-third of the global population.&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Tracking by Johns Hopkins University</a>&nbsp;shows the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 250,000 people globally, more than 68,000 in the United States.

In 1918, the surgeon general noted in a handbill that “a person who has only a mild attack of the disease himself may give a very severe attack to others.” The warning is just as applicable to the coronavirus, especially as scientists learned large numbers of people with COVID-19 may spread it despite no obvious symptoms. Exactly how often the new virus kills can’t be determined without better counts of the infected; some estimates&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3291398/" target="_blank">put the 1918 flu’s death rate at 2.5%.</a>

Blue’s public notice also warned people to avoid charlatans and only get medicine from doctors.

Physicians, though, didn’t always know what they were doing. Medical journals at the time describe a rash of unusual treatments, some in the league of Trump’s amateur theories about disinfectant, blasts of lights and an unapproved drug that has both potential benefits and risks.

One 1918-era doctor recommended that people sniff a boric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) powder to rinse out nasal passages. Others prescribed quinine, strychnine and a poisonous garden plant called Digitalis to help circulation, as well as drugs derived from iodine for “internal disinfection,” according to Laura Spinney, who wrote the 2017 book “Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World.”

Popular theories spread that warming your feet would prevent infection, or gobbling brown sugar, or getting the onion rubdown. A “clean heart” was one supposed preventive, though it is not clear whether that meant the organ or the heart of love.

“There was no Tony Fauci back then,” Barry said in a remote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-9104/" target="_blank">Library of Congress interview</a>&nbsp;in April.

We have Fauci now — a federal immunologist who has been regarded as the truth-teller in White House briefings, singularly immune to Trump’s positive spin and falsehoods. Plus, we know so much more than people did in 1918.

Yet we’re still hearing lots of Dark Ages nonsense.

Conspiracy theorists have blamed COVID-19 on the development of 5G networks, just as they say radio waves caused the 1918 flu. Arsonists recently torched more than a dozen British cell towers after that falsehood circulated.

Over the months of this pandemic, The Associated Press has debunked a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/Fact-checking">series of bogus remedies&nbsp;</a>that spread on Facebook, Twitter and the like. No, blasting hot air up your nose from a hair dryer won’t protect you. Nor will drinking tonic water, eating high-alkaline foods, stuffing antibiotic ointment up your nose, downing vodka or any home elixir.

No, it’s not true that if you can’t hold your breath very long, you have COVID-19. Or that a vaccine from a lab only works on a disease created by a lab.

Social distancing has not come with social-media distancing. Over a century of science, we haven’t gone back to the future, but ahead to the past.

In September 1918, as the Spanish flu’s second and by far deadliest wave hit in the U.S., Philadelphia’s public health chief disregarded advisers and let a massive war-bond parade proceed through downtown. The H1N1 virus raced through the masses in what has been called the world’s deadliest parade. As officials insisted there was nothing to be alarmed about, people were seeing neighbors sicken and die with astonishing speed and mass graves being dug.

“It’s just the flu” had worn thin as the mantra of officialdom.

Late that November, sirens wailed in San Francisco to sound the all-clear after six weeks of lockdown and tell people they could remove their masks. San Francisco, like many cities in the West, had been largely spared the first wave and spent the interval preparing for Round 2, mandating masks and jailing people who didn’t comply.

They had a rhyme for that, too, of course: “Obey the laws, and wear the gauze. Protect your jaws from septic paws.”

<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/influenza-san-francisco/" target="_blank">The precautions paid off&nbsp;</a>with a death rate lower than in afflicted cities elsewhere. But the city relaxed too soon.

In December, thousands of new cases erupted. A wave spilling into the new year was underway. San Francisco’s death toll mounted by more than 1,000. It was the last lashing by the Spanish flu, and a less lethal one.

The brutal lessons of 1918 and 1919? To Barry, who was enlisted 15 years ago in a Bush administration drive to prepare all levels of government for pandemics, they are to respond early, relax cautiously, tell people the truth.

Instead he has seen denial followed by a chaotic federal response and leadership vacuum as Washington and the states compete for the same medical essentials and now move fitfully toward reopening.

“Now we have plans, even war-gamed the plans, spent billions preparing for just what is happening, federal agencies have been tasked to handle all these things, and we get ... next to nothing,” he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a century’s progress in science, 2020 is looking a lot like 1918.In the years between two lethal pandemics, one the misnamed Spanish flu, the other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak">COVID-19</a>, the world learned about viruses, cured various diseases, made effective vaccines, developed instant communications and created elaborate public-health networks.Yet here we are again, face-masked to the max. And still unable to crush an insidious yet avoidable infectious disease before hundreds of thousands die from it.As in 1918, people are again hearing hollow assurances at odds with the reality of hospitals and morgues filling up and bank accounts draining. The ancient common sense of quarantining is back. So is quackery: Rub raw onions on your chest, they said in 1918. How about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7f0a9a77dad8c8722aa54fef45e8667b">disinfectant in your veins</a>&nbsp;now? mused President Donald Trump, drawing gasps instead of laughs over what he weakly tried to pass off as a joke.In 1918, no one had a vaccine, treatment or cure for the great flu pandemic as it ravaged the world and killed more than 50 million people. No one has any of that for the coronavirus, either.Modern science quickly identified&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak">today’s new coronavirus</a>, mapped its genetic code and developed a diagnostic test, tapping knowledge no one had in 1918. That has given people more of a fighting chance to stay out of harm’s way, at least in countries that deployed tests quickly, which the U.S. didn’t.But the ways to avoid getting sick and what to do when sick are little changed. The failure of U.S. presidents to take the threat seriously from the start also joins past to present.Trump all but declared victory before infection took root in his country and he’s delivered a stream of misinformation ever since. President Woodrow Wilson’s principal failure was his silence.Not once, historians say, did Wilson publicly speak about a disease that was killing Americans grotesquely and in huge numbers, even though he contracted it himself and was never the same after. Wilson fixated on America’s parallel fight in World War I like “a dog with a bone,” says John M. Barry, author of “The Great Influenza.”The suspected ground zero of the Spanish flu ranges from Kansas to China. But it was clear to U.S. officials even in 1918 that it didn’t start in Spain.The pandemic took on Spain’s name only because its free press ambitiously reported the devastation in the disease’s early 1918 wave while government officials and a complicit press in countries at war — the U.S. among them — played it down in a time of jingoism, censorship and denial.Like COVID-19, the 1918 pandemic came from a respiratory virus that jumped from animals to people, was transmitted the same way, and had similar pathology, Barry said by email. Social distancing, hand-washing and masks were leading control measures then and now.<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-opinion-flashback-1918-flu-pandemic-timeline-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">Medical advice from then&nbsp;</a>also resonates today: “If you get it, stay at home, rest in bed, keep warm, drink hot drinks and stay quiet until the symptoms are past,” said Dr. John Dill Robertson, Chicago health commissioner in 1918. “Then continue to be careful, for the greatest danger is from pneumonia or some kindred disease after the influenza is gone.”In the manner of the day, there just had to be a catchy rhyme in circulation, too: “Cover up each cough and sneeze. If you don’t you’ll spread disease.”But there were also marked differences between the viruses of 1918 and 2020. The Spanish flu was particularly dangerous to healthy people aged 20 to 40 — the prime generation of military service — paradoxically because of their vibrant immune systems.When such people got infected, their antibodies went after the virus like soldiers spilling from the trenches of Europe’s killing fields.“The immune system was throwing every weapon it had at the virus,” Barry said. “The battlefield was the lung. The lung was being destroyed in that battle.”Young soldiers and sailors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/pandemic-timeline-1918.htm" target="_blank">massed at military camps</a>&nbsp;in the U.S., sailed for Europe on ships stuffed to the gunwales with humanity, fought side by side in the trenches and came home in victory to adoring crowds. The toll was enormous, on them and the people they infected. The Spanish flu could just as easily have been called the U.S. Army or U.S. Navy flu instead. Or the German or British flu, for that matter.Among those who died in the pandemic was Friedrich Trump, Donald Trump’s paternal grandfather. Among those who contracted it and recovered were the wartime leaders of Britain and Germany as well as of the United States, British and Spanish kings and the future U.S. president, Franklin Roosevelt, when he was assistant Navy secretary.But the toll was heavier on average people and the poor, crowded in tenements, street cars and sweaty factories.They could not all live by the words of the 1918 U.S. surgeon general, Rupert Blue: “Keep out of crowds and stuffy places as much as possible. ... The value of fresh air through open windows cannot be overemphasized. ... Make every possible effort to breath as much pure air as possible.”An estimated 675,000 Americans died in the pandemic, which is thought to have infected one-third of the global population.&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Tracking by Johns Hopkins University</a>&nbsp;shows the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 250,000 people globally, more than 68,000 in the United States.___BAD SCIENCEIn 1918, the surgeon general noted in a handbill that “a person who has only a mild attack of the disease himself may give a very severe attack to others.” The warning is just as applicable to the coronavirus, especially as scientists learned large numbers of people with COVID-19 may spread it despite no obvious symptoms. Exactly how often the new virus kills can’t be determined without better counts of the infected; some estimates&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3291398/" target="_blank">put the 1918 flu’s death rate at 2.5%.</a>Blue’s public notice also warned people to avoid charlatans and only get medicine from doctors.Physicians, though, didn’t always know what they were doing. Medical journals at the time describe a rash of unusual treatments, some in the league of Trump’s amateur theories about disinfectant, blasts of lights and an unapproved drug that has both potential benefits and risks.One 1918-era doctor recommended that people sniff a boric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) powder to rinse out nasal passages. Others prescribed quinine, strychnine and a poisonous garden plant called Digitalis to help circulation, as well as drugs derived from iodine for “internal disinfection,” according to Laura Spinney, who wrote the 2017 book “Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World.”Popular theories spread that warming your feet would prevent infection, or gobbling brown sugar, or getting the onion rubdown. A “clean heart” was one supposed preventive, though it is not clear whether that meant the organ or the heart of love.“There was no Tony Fauci back then,” Barry said in a remote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-9104/" target="_blank">Library of Congress interview</a>&nbsp;in April.We have Fauci now — a federal immunologist who has been regarded as the truth-teller in White House briefings, singularly immune to Trump’s positive spin and falsehoods. Plus, we know so much more than people did in 1918.Yet we’re still hearing lots of Dark Ages nonsense.Conspiracy theorists have blamed COVID-19 on the development of 5G networks, just as they say radio waves caused the 1918 flu. Arsonists recently torched more than a dozen British cell towers after that falsehood circulated.Over the months of this pandemic, The Associated Press has debunked a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/Fact-checking">series of bogus remedies&nbsp;</a>that spread on Facebook, Twitter and the like. No, blasting hot air up your nose from a hair dryer won’t protect you. Nor will drinking tonic water, eating high-alkaline foods, stuffing antibiotic ointment up your nose, downing vodka or any home elixir.No, it’s not true that if you can’t hold your breath very long, you have COVID-19. Or that a vaccine from a lab only works on a disease created by a lab.Social distancing has not come with social-media distancing. Over a century of science, we haven’t gone back to the future, but ahead to the past.___LESSONS OF 1918 (and 1919)In September 1918, as the Spanish flu’s second and by far deadliest wave hit in the U.S., Philadelphia’s public health chief disregarded advisers and let a massive war-bond parade proceed through downtown. The H1N1 virus raced through the masses in what has been called the world’s deadliest parade. As officials insisted there was nothing to be alarmed about, people were seeing neighbors sicken and die with astonishing speed and mass graves being dug.“It’s just the flu” had worn thin as the mantra of officialdom.Late that November, sirens wailed in San Francisco to sound the all-clear after six weeks of lockdown and tell people they could remove their masks. San Francisco, like many cities in the West, had been largely spared the first wave and spent the interval preparing for Round 2, mandating masks and jailing people who didn’t comply.They had a rhyme for that, too, of course: “Obey the laws, and wear the gauze. Protect your jaws from septic paws.”<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/influenza-san-francisco/" target="_blank">The precautions paid off&nbsp;</a>with a death rate lower than in afflicted cities elsewhere. But the city relaxed too soon.In December, thousands of new cases erupted. A wave spilling into the new year was underway. San Francisco’s death toll mounted by more than 1,000. It was the last lashing by the Spanish flu, and a less lethal one.The brutal lessons of 1918 and 1919? To Barry, who was enlisted 15 years ago in a Bush administration drive to prepare all levels of government for pandemics, they are to respond early, relax cautiously, tell people the truth.Instead he has seen denial followed by a chaotic federal response and leadership vacuum as Washington and the states compete for the same medical essentials and now move fitfully toward reopening.“Now we have plans, even war-gamed the plans, spent billions preparing for just what is happening, federal agencies have been tasked to handle all these things, and we get ... next to nothing,” he said.Not even a jingle.

Virus-afflicted 2020 looks like 1918 despite science's march

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence was self-isolating Sunday after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus last week, but he planned to return to the White House on Monday.

An administration official said Pence was voluntarily keeping his distance from other people in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19 since his exposure but was following the advice of medical officials.

His action came after three of the nation’s top scientists took their own protective steps following possible exposure to a White House staffer infected by the coronavirus.

“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine,” spokesman Devin O’Malley said Sunday. “Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow.”

Pence has been at home since returning to Washington from a day trip to Iowa on Friday and did not appear at President Donald Trump’s meeting with military leaders Saturday at the White House. Pence was informed of the aide’s positive test shortly before departing for that trip.

An official initially said Pence planned to continue working from home, before Pence’s office clarified that he planned to work from the White House on Monday. It was not immediately clear how Pence’s steps to self-isolate would impact his professional or public engagements.

Pence has led the White House coronavirus task force for more than two months. Top officials who have gone into quarantine because of exposure to a person at the White House who tested positive for the virus are Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC; and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn.

Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week.

A military service member who acts as a valet to the president tested positive on Thursday, the first known instance where a person in close proximity to the president at the White House had tested positive.

After Miller was identified as having tested positive, Trump said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.

The three other task force members have indicated varying plans for dealing with their exposure. None has announced testing positive for the virus and, taking into account what has been described as limited exposure to the infected person, are considered at relatively low risk for infection.

Fauci’s institute said he was “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to others while still carrying out his duties, teleworking from home but willing to go to the White House if called. Officials said both Redfield and Hahn will be self-quarantining for two weeks.

The three officials were expected to testify by videoconference before a Senate health committee on Tuesday. On Sunday night, the office of the chairman of the committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced that the senator would be self-quarantining in Tennessee for two weeks after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Alexander too will participate in the hearing by videoconference.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1586429670186.png" alt="Vice President Mike Pence answers questions during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing last month-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Mike Pence answers questions during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing last month-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence was self-isolating Sunday after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus last week, but he planned to return to the White House on Monday.An administration official said Pence was voluntarily keeping his distance from other people in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19 since his exposure but was following the advice of medical officials.His action came after three of the nation’s top scientists took their own protective steps following possible exposure to a White House staffer infected by the coronavirus.“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine,” spokesman Devin O’Malley said Sunday. “Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow.”Pence has been at home since returning to Washington from a day trip to Iowa on Friday and did not appear at President Donald Trump’s meeting with military leaders Saturday at the White House. Pence was informed of the aide’s positive test shortly before departing for that trip.An official initially said Pence planned to continue working from home, before Pence’s office clarified that he planned to work from the White House on Monday. It was not immediately clear how Pence’s steps to self-isolate would impact his professional or public engagements.Pence has led the White House coronavirus task force for more than two months. Top officials who have gone into quarantine because of exposure to a person at the White House who tested positive for the virus are Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC; and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn.Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week.A military service member who acts as a valet to the president tested positive on Thursday, the first known instance where a person in close proximity to the president at the White House had tested positive.After Miller was identified as having tested positive, Trump said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.The three other task force members have indicated varying plans for dealing with their exposure. None has announced testing positive for the virus and, taking into account what has been described as limited exposure to the infected person, are considered at relatively low risk for infection.Fauci’s institute said he was “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to others while still carrying out his duties, teleworking from home but willing to go to the White House if called. Officials said both Redfield and Hahn will be self-quarantining for two weeks.The three officials were expected to testify by videoconference before a Senate health committee on Tuesday. On Sunday night, the office of the chairman of the committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced that the senator would be self-quarantining in Tennessee for two weeks after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Alexander too will participate in the hearing by videoconference.<a href="https://bttrack.com/Click/Native?data=AFVDc9wbmOGpfzAhFqm7EIQtJ_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" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PAI</a>

Vice Pres. expected back at work after exposure to infected aide

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas harvester Mike Keimig is growing increasingly anxious about whether the foreign seasonal workers he needs to run his nine combines and drive his grain trucks will arrive in time for the start of the winter wheat harvest, which is just weeks away.

His regular crew mostly comprises farm kids from South Africa who return to work for him every year, but they are stuck overseas. The paperwork for about half of the 20 agricultural worker visas he has applied for remains in limbo at the shuttered U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg.

The closure of embassies and consulates due to the coronavirus pandemic is not the only obstacle to bringing in seasonal workers. Governments have closed their borders. Overseas workers who have visas cannot get on a flight. And once they arrive, they would face weeks of quarantine before they could work.

“It will definitely have a big impact on our finances ... if we can’t get help to run our equipment,” Keimig said.

“It would even have an effect on the farmers. Well, maybe they can find somebody besides us to do it, I don’t know?” he said. “But I think it would be a little tough because there are a lot of us in the same situation.”

Harvester crews typically traverse the nation with their combines and grain trucks taking on work where the crops are ripening. They usually work the same farms every season, saving the farmers the cost of investing in harvester equipment.

About 30% of U.S. harvest operations use foreign workers on their crews, according to Mandi Sieren, operations manager for the industry trade group U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc.

Temporary agricultural worker H-2A visas have been largely spared from immigration rollbacks because agriculture is an essential industry, but the workers can’t travel to the U.S. right now because of the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Sieren said.

As for hiring locally, harvesters “would absolutely love to hire Americans but there are not very many Americans who would leave home for six to nine months at a time,” she said.

As many as half of the workers who harvest U.S. wheat and other grain crops are seasonal foreign workers, said Ryan Haffner, a Kansas harvester and board member for U.S. Custom Harvesters.

“We are always looking for American workers. I mean, that is a constant search,” Haffner said. But many Americans are “disconnected from agriculture” and lack interest or the skills required to work in farming.

“There are more people overseas really that have an interest and still a working knowledge of agriculture,” he said.

Modern harvesting machines are computerized and sophisticated, so it’s not easy for the city-dwelling unemployed to just pick up, adapt and learn to operate them, Haffner said.

Typically, a third of Haffner’s crew of up to 20 workers is American, while the rest come from South Africa, Europe and South America. He has the agricultural worker visas for his foreign workers for this harvest season, but was only able to get a few of them into the U.S. before coronavirus restrictions effectively shut the others out.

The harvest season begins in mid-May in north-central Texas, before moving into Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota. In the summer, they cut mostly wheat. In early fall, they harvest peas, canola, soybeans, grain sorghum and corn. Haffner can’t afford to miss a season.

“I have got $5 million worth of equipment — I can’t not be there,” Haffner said. “So we are going to be there. We are going to get to our customers. It is just going to be much more difficult than usual. We intend to get through it.”

Some harvesters are turning to relatives and friends to work for a few weeks or more until the foreign workers can arrive. Some have been able to hire Americans for the whole season. Others are trying to do as much as they can themselves.

Don Kotapish, a 72-year-old farmer who also does a bit of cutting for others on the side, usually brings in a couple of workers from South Africa to help him on his 6,500-acre property in Blue Rapids, Kansas. He said he has been working from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. or later every day because he hasn’t been able to hire any help.

“Not only are we short on help, but we aren’t getting anything for our products,” Kotapish said. “The cattleman and the grain farmers are all in the same situation. That adds more stress.”

Texas harvester Shorty Kulhanek usually hires fewer than five seasonal workers, and he has been able to pick up some workers from Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin and Washington this season. He said it was easier to find Americans to join his crew because so many people are out of work.

Furthermore, Kulhanek’s applications for seasonal agricultural worker visas have yet to be approved, and he was told that might not happen until July 15.

“I can’t wait that long,” he said. “I have to proceed with what I can get.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589039066122.png" alt="Farmer cuts a northwest Kansas wheat field in 2019" />
 <figcaption>Farmer cuts a northwest Kansas wheat field in 2019</figcaption>
 </figure>BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas harvester Mike Keimig is growing increasingly anxious about whether the foreign seasonal workers he needs to run his nine combines and drive his grain trucks will arrive in time for the start of the winter wheat harvest, which is just weeks away.His regular crew mostly comprises farm kids from South Africa who return to work for him every year, but they are stuck overseas. The paperwork for about half of the 20 agricultural worker visas he has applied for remains in limbo at the shuttered U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg.The closure of embassies and consulates due to the coronavirus pandemic is not the only obstacle to bringing in seasonal workers. Governments have closed their borders. Overseas workers who have visas cannot get on a flight. And once they arrive, they would face weeks of quarantine before they could work.“It will definitely have a big impact on our finances ... if we can’t get help to run our equipment,” Keimig said.“It would even have an effect on the farmers. Well, maybe they can find somebody besides us to do it, I don’t know?” he said. “But I think it would be a little tough because there are a lot of us in the same situation.”Harvester crews typically traverse the nation with their combines and grain trucks taking on work where the crops are ripening. They usually work the same farms every season, saving the farmers the cost of investing in harvester equipment.About 30% of U.S. harvest operations use foreign workers on their crews, according to Mandi Sieren, operations manager for the industry trade group U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc.Temporary agricultural worker H-2A visas have been largely spared from immigration rollbacks because agriculture is an essential industry, but the workers can’t travel to the U.S. right now because of the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Sieren said.As for hiring locally, harvesters “would absolutely love to hire Americans but there are not very many Americans who would leave home for six to nine months at a time,” she said.As many as half of the workers who harvest U.S. wheat and other grain crops are seasonal foreign workers, said Ryan Haffner, a Kansas harvester and board member for U.S. Custom Harvesters.“We are always looking for American workers. I mean, that is a constant search,” Haffner said. But many Americans are “disconnected from agriculture” and lack interest or the skills required to work in farming.“There are more people overseas really that have an interest and still a working knowledge of agriculture,” he said.Modern harvesting machines are computerized and sophisticated, so it’s not easy for the city-dwelling unemployed to just pick up, adapt and learn to operate them, Haffner said.Typically, a third of Haffner’s crew of up to 20 workers is American, while the rest come from South Africa, Europe and South America. He has the agricultural worker visas for his foreign workers for this harvest season, but was only able to get a few of them into the U.S. before coronavirus restrictions effectively shut the others out.The harvest season begins in mid-May in north-central Texas, before moving into Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota. In the summer, they cut mostly wheat. In early fall, they harvest peas, canola, soybeans, grain sorghum and corn. Haffner can’t afford to miss a season.“I have got $5 million worth of equipment — I can’t not be there,” Haffner said. “So we are going to be there. We are going to get to our customers. It is just going to be much more difficult than usual. We intend to get through it.”Some harvesters are turning to relatives and friends to work for a few weeks or more until the foreign workers can arrive. Some have been able to hire Americans for the whole season. Others are trying to do as much as they can themselves.Don Kotapish, a 72-year-old farmer who also does a bit of cutting for others on the side, usually brings in a couple of workers from South Africa to help him on his 6,500-acre property in Blue Rapids, Kansas. He said he has been working from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. or later every day because he hasn’t been able to hire any help.“Not only are we short on help, but we aren’t getting anything for our products,” Kotapish said. “The cattleman and the grain farmers are all in the same situation. That adds more stress.”Texas harvester Shorty Kulhanek usually hires fewer than five seasonal workers, and he has been able to pick up some workers from Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin and Washington this season. He said it was easier to find Americans to join his crew because so many people are out of work.Furthermore, Kulhanek’s applications for seasonal agricultural worker visas have yet to be approved, and he was told that might not happen until July 15.“I can’t wait that long,” he said. “I have to proceed with what I can get.”

Harvesters struggle to recruit foreign crews during pandemic

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 233 to a total of 6984, the state health department reported Sunday afternoon.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE

Note: Starting May 11, the KDHE will stop releasing daily updates of counts of coronavirus cases and move to releasing the information on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

He said department employees need a combined total of 10 hours a day to produce the data and post it on its coronavirus website.

“We can spring free our precious epidemiology staff to do their work, which is actually to push down the disease,” Norman said.

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 233 to a total of 6984, the state health department reported Sunday afternoon.&nbsp;Coronavirus deaths were reported at 157<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589134712386.png" alt="May 10, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>May 10, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>Note: Starting May 11, the KDHE will stop releasing daily updates of counts of coronavirus cases and move to releasing the information on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.He said department employees need a combined total of 10 hours a day to produce the data and post it on its coronavirus website.“We can spring free our precious epidemiology staff to do their work, which is actually to push down the disease,” Norman said.

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — In this pandemic, it has been hard to keep in contact with loved ones in person. That is especially true in retirement homes. 

On Friday, 11 staff from Hospice &amp; HomeCare of Reno County sang hymns at Good Samaritan to let the residents and staff know they are thinking of them and care how they are doing during this pandemic.  

Leading the singing and playing the keyboard was Occupational Therapist Barb Youmans.  Chaplain Cindy Dubovich shared encouraging words and closed the event with a prayer of blessings over the residents and staff. 

Brenda Janda, administrator at Good Samaritan, shared how much they all appreciated the thoughtfulness.  Janda said this has been a tough time for nursing homes as they have to be so isolated and hospice staff is often limited to how much they can visit patients.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588972609544.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kan. — In this pandemic, it has been hard to keep in contact with loved ones in person. That is especially true in retirement homes. On Friday, 11 staff from Hospice &amp; HomeCare of Reno County sang hymns at Good Samaritan to let the residents and staff know they are thinking of them and care how they are doing during this pandemic. Leading the singing and playing the keyboard was Occupational Therapist Barb Youmans. Chaplain Cindy Dubovich shared encouraging words and closed the event with a prayer of blessings over the residents and staff. Brenda Janda, administrator at Good Samaritan, shared how much they all appreciated the thoughtfulness. Janda said this has been a tough time for nursing homes as they have to be so isolated and hospice staff is often limited to how much they can visit patients.

Hospice visits Good Samaritan home

NICKERSON, Kan. —  The Nickerson school board will take time to discuss the use of buildings and sports facilities for the summer during Monday’s meeting.

Like other school districts in the area, USD 309 is working with the county Health Department to establish guidelines for using buildings for summer camps and classes. 

The board is also looking at how soon it can reopen outdoor sporting areas and facilities. The proposal before the board would further suspend the use of those facilities until at least the end of June. The matter would be addressed again at that time.

Also Monday, the board will consider options for dealing with the aging track and the football field at the high school stadium. The board has two proposals for the track to consider. 

The board will also seek approval to hold graduation for seniors on July 25 at 11 a.m. in the high school gymnasium. The district is holding open the option of limiting the number of family members a senior can bring to the ceremony, but no decision has been made at this time.

Monday’s meeting of the Nickerson USD 309 School Board begins at 7 p.m. at the district offices at 4501 W. 4th Ave. just west of Fun Valley.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1587157597539.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NICKERSON, Kan. — The Nickerson school board will take time to discuss the use of buildings and sports facilities for the summer during Monday’s meeting.Like other school districts in the area, USD 309 is working with the county Health Department to establish guidelines for using buildings for summer camps and classes. The board is also looking at how soon it can reopen outdoor sporting areas and facilities. The proposal before the board would further suspend the use of those facilities until at least the end of June. The matter would be addressed again at that time.Also Monday, the board will consider options for dealing with the aging track and the football field at the high school stadium. The board has two proposals for the track to consider. The board will also seek approval to hold graduation for seniors on July 25 at 11 a.m. in the high school gymnasium. The district is holding open the option of limiting the number of family members a senior can bring to the ceremony, but no decision has been made at this time.Monday’s meeting of the Nickerson USD 309 School Board begins at 7 p.m. at the district offices at 4501 W. 4th Ave. just west of Fun Valley.

USD 309 to discuss summer facilities use

TOPEKA –The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is working&nbsp; with the University of Kansas School of Engineering (KU) to determine if genetic remnants of COVID-19 can be detected in wastewater.&nbsp;

According to the KDHE, the concept originally tested in Massachusetts and the Netherlands, and now throughout the United States, is that people infected with the virus shed it through their urine and feces. 

The genetic material can be extracted from wastewater and matched against genetic markers keyed to COVID-19. The virus itself does not survive in wastewater, and therefore wastewater is not a significant means of disease transmission.&nbsp;

Detecting the genetic material in wastewater is indicative of COVID-19 being present and may give local health officials knowledge of how widespread it is in their community, allowing them to take proactive measures to mitigate its spread. While drinking water is not part of this ongoing study, it’s important to note disinfection by all Kansas public water suppliers inactivates the virus and drinking water remains safe for consumption.

The Kansas project is still in its preliminary stages. KU collected samples from 12 wastewater plants in Kansas in late April. Some indication of the genetic material was found in the wastewater in 10 of those plants. Results are too variable and uncertain to make actual estimates of the extent of infection in those communities. The results were communicated to officials in cities that participated in the study.

“The initial results do show genetic indications from COVID-19 in wastewater; however, at best, we are at the presence/absence stage of evaluation process,” Tom Stiles, KDHE’s Bureau of Water director, said. “There is much more we need to refine in the methodology to assure quality control and that will start with further testing of samples. We don’t know how quantitative this approach can be, but we are hoping it gives us a means to corroborate our COVID testing of individuals, particularly in counties where positive cases have been low. Additionally, we may employ it as early warning surveillance should the virus come back in the fall or winter to give us a chance to get ahead of it.”&nbsp;

Samples were taken from a large city and a small town, each in five northeast Kansas counties with multiple wastewater facilities and sampled in Lawrence and Topeka. KDHE and KU are still evaluating the results and formulating plans for next steps in using the detection techniques.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588951923813.png" alt="Waste water treatment plant -photo courtesy Johnson County" />
 <figcaption>Waste water treatment plant -photo courtesy Johnson County</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA –The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is working&nbsp; with the University of Kansas School of Engineering (KU) to determine if genetic remnants of COVID-19 can be detected in wastewater.&nbsp;According to the KDHE, the concept originally tested in Massachusetts and the Netherlands, and now throughout the United States, is that people infected with the virus shed it through their urine and feces. The genetic material can be extracted from wastewater and matched against genetic markers keyed to COVID-19. The virus itself does not survive in wastewater, and therefore wastewater is not a significant means of disease transmission.&nbsp;Detecting the genetic material in wastewater is indicative of COVID-19 being present and may give local health officials knowledge of how widespread it is in their community, allowing them to take proactive measures to mitigate its spread. While drinking water is not part of this ongoing study, it’s important to note disinfection by all Kansas public water suppliers inactivates the virus and drinking water remains safe for consumption.The Kansas project is still in its preliminary stages. KU collected samples from 12 wastewater plants in Kansas in late April. Some indication of the genetic material was found in the wastewater in 10 of those plants. Results are too variable and uncertain to make actual estimates of the extent of infection in those communities. The results were communicated to officials in cities that participated in the study.“The initial results do show genetic indications from COVID-19 in wastewater; however, at best, we are at the presence/absence stage of evaluation process,” Tom Stiles, KDHE’s Bureau of Water director, said. “There is much more we need to refine in the methodology to assure quality control and that will start with further testing of samples. We don’t know how quantitative this approach can be, but we are hoping it gives us a means to corroborate our COVID testing of individuals, particularly in counties where positive cases have been low. Additionally, we may employ it as early warning surveillance should the virus come back in the fall or winter to give us a chance to get ahead of it.”&nbsp;Samples were taken from a large city and a small town, each in five northeast Kansas counties with multiple wastewater facilities and sampled in Lawrence and Topeka. KDHE and KU are still evaluating the results and formulating plans for next steps in using the detection techniques.

KDHE: Wastewater could hold clues to fighting COVID-19

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Operators of food assistance programs across Kansas are serving hundreds of additional families that are struggling financially due to the fallout from the coronavirus.

The increased need comes at a time when donations are down,&nbsp; according to Kansas Food Bank CEO Brian Walker.

The food bank last week began surveying 164 partner agencies across the state. The 104 responses as of Tuesday indicated a roughly 30% increase in need due to the pandemic.

Walker believes the need isn't going away anytime soon, even as businesses begin operating again and some employees return to work.

“We don’t want people to think because the economy has opened back up and you can go to a restaurant that, you know, everybody is going back to work and people aren’t going to need assistance. That’s just not the case," Walker said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589060747964.png" alt="&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KSARNG/?__tn__=K-R&amp;eid=ARBH73PgYcz7-wVJADkzvb-WMjg7FM5J6TXNInt2hxlZPhalL6RBmMVX5hzcSZyd3EZ2u6ov33CPe70Y&amp;fref=mentions&amp;__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCnX6dYVLULQsNaMgXm28NxnY_rsxVjuA6Up8DqjS3ASL8ogICaDhNTdd7zyNQ8CzUAUFHj4keQ9IL2S94p-ump4Fn9uTLUuQLKaIgFLy23MdWc4WvzwUOLRcTaXkrjz7kcbUf2e2oBzgFe1MIqJajIhRmEqC1SR_lFnnQYl9NovFAznrz1VxC-Y23jLFMx6HaQ-Yzs0ku-RaX9D1Qj-Den1x86ccuaJchxyDwWM48nUFnd0yl-G3hk8R6N3gfjEYlEtcqyrrA5oY_ZFN44JgoHkKxkROpM7FNSyp4omD5qzrgY6XcbRLKSrrPK6UT23MgdKTAj_b2tvVZbC5mg">Kansas Army National Guard</a>&nbsp;Soldiers from the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion 137th Infantry Regiment (KSARNG) are working in coordination with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KansasEmergency/?__tn__=K-R&amp;eid=ARC__pfr9y6Vf-YH2jFBPeRSaoOOpcDoRuvn8JFMcoLoite7AyHk4gbRqMListcxKqJmNNAhAE_bPJPB&amp;fref=mentions&amp;__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCnX6dYVLULQsNaMgXm28NxnY_rsxVjuA6Up8DqjS3ASL8ogICaDhNTdd7zyNQ8CzUAUFHj4keQ9IL2S94p-ump4Fn9uTLUuQLKaIgFLy23MdWc4WvzwUOLRcTaXkrjz7kcbUf2e2oBzgFe1MIqJajIhRmEqC1SR_lFnnQYl9NovFAznrz1VxC-Y23jLFMx6HaQ-Yzs0ku-RaX9D1Qj-Den1x86ccuaJchxyDwWM48nUFnd0yl-G3hk8R6N3gfjEYlEtcqyrrA5oY_ZFN44JgoHkKxkROpM7FNSyp4omD5qzrgY6XcbRLKSrrPK6UT23MgdKTAj_b2tvVZbC5mg">Kansas Division of Emergency Management</a>&nbsp;and the Kansas Food Bank to provide food boxes for individuals and families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.-photos courtesy Kansas Food Bank" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KSARNG/?__tn__=K-R&amp;eid=ARBH73PgYcz7-wVJADkzvb-WMjg7FM5J6TXNInt2hxlZPhalL6RBmMVX5hzcSZyd3EZ2u6ov33CPe70Y&amp;fref=mentions&amp;__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCnX6dYVLULQsNaMgXm28NxnY_rsxVjuA6Up8DqjS3ASL8ogICaDhNTdd7zyNQ8CzUAUFHj4keQ9IL2S94p-ump4Fn9uTLUuQLKaIgFLy23MdWc4WvzwUOLRcTaXkrjz7kcbUf2e2oBzgFe1MIqJajIhRmEqC1SR_lFnnQYl9NovFAznrz1VxC-Y23jLFMx6HaQ-Yzs0ku-RaX9D1Qj-Den1x86ccuaJchxyDwWM48nUFnd0yl-G3hk8R6N3gfjEYlEtcqyrrA5oY_ZFN44JgoHkKxkROpM7FNSyp4omD5qzrgY6XcbRLKSrrPK6UT23MgdKTAj_b2tvVZbC5mg">Kansas Army National Guard</a>&nbsp;Soldiers from the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion 137th Infantry Regiment (KSARNG) are working in coordination with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KansasEmergency/?__tn__=K-R&amp;eid=ARC__pfr9y6Vf-YH2jFBPeRSaoOOpcDoRuvn8JFMcoLoite7AyHk4gbRqMListcxKqJmNNAhAE_bPJPB&amp;fref=mentions&amp;__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCnX6dYVLULQsNaMgXm28NxnY_rsxVjuA6Up8DqjS3ASL8ogICaDhNTdd7zyNQ8CzUAUFHj4keQ9IL2S94p-ump4Fn9uTLUuQLKaIgFLy23MdWc4WvzwUOLRcTaXkrjz7kcbUf2e2oBzgFe1MIqJajIhRmEqC1SR_lFnnQYl9NovFAznrz1VxC-Y23jLFMx6HaQ-Yzs0ku-RaX9D1Qj-Den1x86ccuaJchxyDwWM48nUFnd0yl-G3hk8R6N3gfjEYlEtcqyrrA5oY_ZFN44JgoHkKxkROpM7FNSyp4omD5qzrgY6XcbRLKSrrPK6UT23MgdKTAj_b2tvVZbC5mg">Kansas Division of Emergency Management</a>&nbsp;and the Kansas Food Bank to provide food boxes for individuals and families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.-photos courtesy Kansas Food Bank</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Operators of food assistance programs across Kansas are serving hundreds of additional families that are struggling financially due to the fallout from the coronavirus.The increased need comes at a time when donations are down,&nbsp; according to Kansas Food Bank CEO Brian Walker.The food bank last week began surveying 164 partner agencies across the state. The 104 responses as of Tuesday indicated a roughly 30% increase in need due to the pandemic.Walker believes the need isn't going away anytime soon, even as businesses begin operating again and some employees return to work.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589060843617.png" alt="Soldiers packed over 5,000 boxes, each containing multiple meals, that will be distributed across the food banks 85 county service area." />
 <figcaption>Soldiers packed over 5,000 boxes, each containing multiple meals, that will be distributed across the food banks 85 county service area.</figcaption>
 </figure>“We don’t want people to think because the economy has opened back up and you can go to a restaurant that, you know, everybody is going back to work and people aren’t going to need assistance. That’s just not the case," Walker said.

Food pantry demand up sharply across Kansas due to virus

“In a time of crisis, our country’s foundation in liberty, and our state’s founding in freedom are more important than ever.

"When coronavirus hit our state, Kansans were willing to comply within reason to protect their friends and neighbors. But now, we’re seeing an administration in Kansas who is quicker to scrap our God-given freedoms than finding ways to protect our rights, our livelihoods and our local businesses.

"This week in McPherson, barber Luke Aichele was threatened with an arrest warrant if he continued to work and earn money during this crisis – regardless of safety precautions he had already taken.

"I spoke to Luke on the phone today. It's worth adding that because Luke is self-employed – and is the only breadwinner in his household – he is still not able to access unemployment benefits due to the delay and failures of the current administration in Topeka, even though the federal government made those benefits available a long time ago.

"I was raised by a Chief of Police. I was raised to respect the law. But I was also raised with basic common sense. Telling someone they cannot work to feed their family, offering them no help, and then threatening their arrest if they safely try to earn a living is wrong.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584054346770.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>“In a time of crisis, our country’s foundation in liberty, and our state’s founding in freedom are more important than ever."When coronavirus hit our state, Kansans were willing to comply within reason to protect their friends and neighbors. But now, we’re seeing an administration in Kansas who is quicker to scrap our God-given freedoms than finding ways to protect our rights, our livelihoods and our local businesses."This week in McPherson, barber Luke Aichele was threatened with an arrest warrant if he continued to work and earn money during this crisis – regardless of safety precautions he had already taken."I spoke to Luke on the phone today. It's worth adding that because Luke is self-employed – and is the only breadwinner in his household – he is still not able to access unemployment benefits due to the delay and failures of the current administration in Topeka, even though the federal government made those benefits available a long time ago."I was raised by a Chief of Police. I was raised to respect the law. But I was also raised with basic common sense. Telling someone they cannot work to feed their family, offering them no help, and then threatening their arrest if they safely try to earn a living is wrong.We are so much better than this.”

Congressman Roger Marshall Issues Statement on Threat to Arrest McPherson Barber

By GREG DOERING <a href="https://kansaslivingmagazine.com/articles/2020/04/29/covid-19-creates-uncertainty-at-kansas-dairies">Kansas Living Magazine</a>

Dan Wiebe and his wife Kerry milk about 100 cows each and every day 
on the last remaining dairy farm in Butler County. The Wiebes have 
watched a “fairly good” milk market fall off a cliff over the past few 
weeks as Covid-19 upended the industry with the closure of restaurants 
and schools.

Still, Dan says Keriel Dairy is fortunate because it has some 
protection through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dairy Margin 
Coverage, a voluntary program that covers some costs if revenue falls 
below the cost to produce milk. The Wiebes signed up for the program in 
the fall, well before the pandemic hit.

“They’re projecting for either April or May that the coverage will be
 paying out $5 per hundredweight (roughly 11.63 gallons of milk,” Dan 
says. “That’s how bad the price is.”

When the year began, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA, the cooperative 
the Wiebes sell their milk through, paid about $18 for every 100 pounds 
of white liquid. The price declined between 20 and 40 percent depending 
on the class of milk produced by early April.

“The problem is that insurance payment is going to lag behind probably 60 days,” Dan says. “There’s going to be a two-month window where we’re getting a third off our normal milk check.”

Freefalling milk prices are the result of sharply reduced demand from
 schools, restaurants and other institutional buyers. The supply chain 
to service those accounts can’t quickly shift to fill retail packages.

One example Dan gave is cheese destined for restaurants is packaged 
in bulk bags or large blocks, both of which are now sitting on packed 
warehouses.

“The price is right,” he says. “The plants would love to buy milk and
 make cheese, but they have no place to put the cheese because it’s not 
going out the door.”

That disconnect has led DFA to dump some milk. While none of the 
Wiebes milk has been dumped, DFA is suggesting dairies consider a 10 
percent reduction in what they produce.

Dan says there are a number of steps dairies can take to reduce their
 milk output, like removing lower-producing cows from the milking 
stream, feeding more to calves than normal, and “drying” cows, or 
increasing the number of days a cow doesn’t produce milk.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act will provide 
help to farmers and ranchers, including those in the dairy industry. The
 details of the package aren’t fully known, but there will be money for 
direct payments and additional funding for Dairy Margin Coverage.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also will partner with regional 
distributors to buy $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat. The 
food products will be packaged in boxes and shipped to food banks, 
community- and faith-based organizations, as well as other nonprofits. 
The goal is to begin shipping boxes as soon as May 15.

The program aims to support those who grow food and those who need it most while minimizing the amount of waste.

At McCarty Family Farms, supply and demand are less of a factor 
because of the dairy’s unique business model. Ken McCarty and his three 
brothers operate five dairies, including three in Kansas. They sell 
their milk on a cost-plus basis to Danone, which turns it into Dannon 
yogurt.

“Basically, our books and our business are fully transparent to 
them,” McCarty says. “We have a guaranteed profit margin, but we work 
collaboratively on things that maybe are important to not only us as a 
company and Danone as a company but society in general.”

Covid-19 hasn’t affected the bottom line at McCarty Family Farms, but it has changed how they and their 200 employees operate.

The McCarty dairies have implemented social distancing policies, restricted access to nonessential vendors, shifted deliveries from essential vendors, limited the number of workers allowed in breakrooms and reevaluated their entire supply chain.

“We have visibility to the direct impact to the team members we see every day,” McCarty says. “We have the good fortune of being able to go to work every day. A lot of people don’t have that.”

McCarty says his teams have had a minimal impact from school 
closures, and there are still plenty of conversations about helping 
workers with spouses who may have lost a job.

McCarty says there’s opportunities for the dairy industry in the form
 of lower input costs for fuel and feed, but he worries that may not be 
enough for some farmers and ranchers.

“The situation in general for the dairy industry and the ag market as a whole is dire,” he says. “We at McCarty Family Farms are very concerned about the long-term implications this will have on rural America.”

McCarty says rural America runs on razor-thin margins in the best of times. He’s worried about how the downturn will affect schools, hospitals and small businesses in the communities where the family milks cows. While McCarty has a guaranteed profit margin, he recognizes many, especially in the dairy industry, are not as fortunate.

“We count our blessings, but we’re still dealing with a tremendous amount of uncertainty even in spite of all the good things we have,” he says. “The stress load is high, and we’re not dealing with a lot of the stress that other people are.”

Kansas Living Magazine is a publication of Kansas Farm Bureau.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588865787208.jpeg" alt="Photo by Amber Kipp on Unsplash" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Amber Kipp on Unsplash</figcaption>
 </figure>By GREG DOERING <a href="https://kansaslivingmagazine.com/articles/2020/04/29/covid-19-creates-uncertainty-at-kansas-dairies">Kansas Living Magazine</a>Dan Wiebe and his wife Kerry milk about 100 cows each and every day 
on the last remaining dairy farm in Butler County. The Wiebes have 
watched a “fairly good” milk market fall off a cliff over the past few 
weeks as Covid-19 upended the industry with the closure of restaurants 
and schools.Still, Dan says Keriel Dairy is fortunate because it has some 
protection through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dairy Margin 
Coverage, a voluntary program that covers some costs if revenue falls 
below the cost to produce milk. The Wiebes signed up for the program in 
the fall, well before the pandemic hit.“They’re projecting for either April or May that the coverage will be
 paying out $5 per hundredweight (roughly 11.63 gallons of milk,” Dan 
says. “That’s how bad the price is.”When the year began, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA, the cooperative 
the Wiebes sell their milk through, paid about $18 for every 100 pounds 
of white liquid. The price declined between 20 and 40 percent depending 
on the class of milk produced by early April.“The problem is that insurance payment is going to lag behind probably 60 days,” Dan says. “There’s going to be a two-month window where we’re getting a third off our normal milk check.”<h2>MODEL INTERUPTED</h2>Freefalling milk prices are the result of sharply reduced demand from
 schools, restaurants and other institutional buyers. The supply chain 
to service those accounts can’t quickly shift to fill retail packages.One example Dan gave is cheese destined for restaurants is packaged 
in bulk bags or large blocks, both of which are now sitting on packed 
warehouses.“The price is right,” he says. “The plants would love to buy milk and
 make cheese, but they have no place to put the cheese because it’s not 
going out the door.”That disconnect has led DFA to dump some milk. While none of the 
Wiebes milk has been dumped, DFA is suggesting dairies consider a 10 
percent reduction in what they produce.Dan says there are a number of steps dairies can take to reduce their
 milk output, like removing lower-producing cows from the milking 
stream, feeding more to calves than normal, and “drying” cows, or 
increasing the number of days a cow doesn’t produce milk.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588865861514.jpeg" alt="Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>CARES ACT</h2>The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act will provide 
help to farmers and ranchers, including those in the dairy industry. The
 details of the package aren’t fully known, but there will be money for 
direct payments and additional funding for Dairy Margin Coverage.The U.S. Department of Agriculture also will partner with regional 
distributors to buy $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat. The 
food products will be packaged in boxes and shipped to food banks, 
community- and faith-based organizations, as well as other nonprofits. 
The goal is to begin shipping boxes as soon as May 15.The program aims to support those who grow food and those who need it most while minimizing the amount of waste.<h2>LIFE UPENDED</h2>At McCarty Family Farms, supply and demand are less of a factor 
because of the dairy’s unique business model. Ken McCarty and his three 
brothers operate five dairies, including three in Kansas. They sell 
their milk on a cost-plus basis to Danone, which turns it into Dannon 
yogurt.“Basically, our books and our business are fully transparent to 
them,” McCarty says. “We have a guaranteed profit margin, but we work 
collaboratively on things that maybe are important to not only us as a 
company and Danone as a company but society in general.”Covid-19 hasn’t affected the bottom line at McCarty Family Farms, but it has changed how they and their 200 employees operate.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588865893003.jpeg" alt="Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>The McCarty dairies have implemented social distancing policies, restricted access to nonessential vendors, shifted deliveries from essential vendors, limited the number of workers allowed in breakrooms and reevaluated their entire supply chain.“We have visibility to the direct impact to the team members we see every day,” McCarty says. “We have the good fortune of being able to go to work every day. A lot of people don’t have that.”McCarty says his teams have had a minimal impact from school 
closures, and there are still plenty of conversations about helping 
workers with spouses who may have lost a job.<h2>BROADER FALLOUT</h2>McCarty says there’s opportunities for the dairy industry in the form
 of lower input costs for fuel and feed, but he worries that may not be 
enough for some farmers and ranchers.“The situation in general for the dairy industry and the ag market as a whole is dire,” he says. “We at McCarty Family Farms are very concerned about the long-term implications this will have on rural America.”McCarty says rural America runs on razor-thin margins in the best of times. He’s worried about how the downturn will affect schools, hospitals and small businesses in the communities where the family milks cows. While McCarty has a guaranteed profit margin, he recognizes many, especially in the dairy industry, are not as fortunate.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588865954519.jpeg" alt="Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>“We count our blessings, but we’re still dealing with a tremendous amount of uncertainty even in spite of all the good things we have,” he says. “The stress load is high, and we’re not dealing with a lot of the stress that other people are.”Kansas Living Magazine is a publication of Kansas Farm Bureau.

Covid-19 creates uncertainty at Kansas dairies

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 250 to a total of 6751, the state health department reported Saturday afternoon.&nbsp;

Editors note:&nbsp;Starting May 11, the KDHE will stop releasing daily updates of counts of coronavirus cases and move to releasing the information on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, according to KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman.

"The department employees need a combined total of 10 hours a day to produce the data and post it on the KDHE coronavirus website. We can spring free our precious epidemiology staff to do their work, which is actually to push down the disease,” Norman said.

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 250 to a total of 6751, the state health department reported Saturday afternoon.&nbsp;Coronavirus deaths were reported at 157<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589044103666.png" alt="May 9, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>May 9, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>Editors note:&nbsp;Starting May 11, the KDHE will stop releasing daily updates of counts of coronavirus cases and move to releasing the information on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, according to KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman."The department employees need a combined total of 10 hours a day to produce the data and post it on the KDHE coronavirus website. We can spring free our precious epidemiology staff to do their work, which is actually to push down the disease,” Norman said.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — With the pandemic keeping people close to home, many are thinking about making their home space more comfortable, including their backyard.&nbsp;

“It seems like people are definitely ready to get their pools up and running,” Sarah Gonzalez of Pools Plus said. “We’ve had customers coming into the store, which is a great feeling.”

Pools Plus, like most locals businesses, has been expanding services as restrictions from the pandemic ease. Not only are they booked for pools several months out, Gonzalez says people are wanting to make other parts of their outdoor living space more comfortable.

“I would say we have definitely seen an uptick in the products we have to offer. Simply because they are products that make your home a fun place to stay,” Gonzalez said. “Since they can’t go on vacations and they can’t venture out to the restaurants we love around town, they’re looking for creative ways to do those things at home.”

Gonzalez says people are wanting pools and hot tubs that they planned for before the pandemic, but customers are also looking at things they can buy now to improve their backyard space.

“It’s gotten a little bit busier in regards to grills, hot tubs, outdoor furniture,” Gonzalez said. “People are looking to create that space knowing that we’re spending a lot more time there right now.”

If you are still thinking about making major modifications to your home space, Gonzalez says to plan ahead and know that it does take time to implement some of those plans.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1577824377601.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By ROD ZOOKHUTCH POSTHUTCHINSON, Kan. — With the pandemic keeping people close to home, many are thinking about making their home space more comfortable, including their backyard.&nbsp;“It seems like people are definitely ready to get their pools up and running,” Sarah Gonzalez of Pools Plus said. “We’ve had customers coming into the store, which is a great feeling.”Pools Plus, like most locals businesses, has been expanding services as restrictions from the pandemic ease. Not only are they booked for pools several months out, Gonzalez says people are wanting to make other parts of their outdoor living space more comfortable.“I would say we have definitely seen an uptick in the products we have to offer. Simply because they are products that make your home a fun place to stay,” Gonzalez said. “Since they can’t go on vacations and they can’t venture out to the restaurants we love around town, they’re looking for creative ways to do those things at home.”Gonzalez says people are wanting pools and hot tubs that they planned for before the pandemic, but customers are also looking at things they can buy now to improve their backyard space.“It’s gotten a little bit busier in regards to grills, hot tubs, outdoor furniture,” Gonzalez said. “People are looking to create that space knowing that we’re spending a lot more time there right now.”If you are still thinking about making major modifications to your home space, Gonzalez says to plan ahead and know that it does take time to implement some of those plans.

More people thinking of ways to make home life better this summer

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) —&nbsp; Kansas City and St. Louis County officials announced Friday that they will proceed with the gradual reopening of businesses but with several restrictions in place as efforts continue to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Kansas City will allow restaurants, bars, gyms, museums, the Kansas City Zoo, government buildings and city-maintained playground equipment to open May 15. Lucas and city health officials had hesitated after 11 COVID-19 cases were confirmed at a senior living complex but the mayor said Friday that the reopening would continue. He planned a news conference on Monday to discuss restrictions at restaurants.

St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said large venues, including sports courts and playgrounds, public pools, gyms and fitness centers, and banquet rooms, will not be allowed to open May 18.

Employees at businesses such as bars and restaurants that do open will be required to wear masks and may refuse service to customers who don't wear masks, Page said. The several other requirements include frequent disinfecting of the premises, testing of employees in danger of contracting COVID-19, and occupancy limits based on the size of the business.

“As we start to discuss easing these (stay-at-home) orders, it does not mean we should let our guard down,” Page said “This is a gradual process of reopening our county. A gradual, thoughtful, deliberate and measured process will allow us to continue to move forward.”

The St. Louis and Kansas City areas have reported a majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Missouri, which on Friday increased by 148 to 9,489. The state also reported 31 news deaths Friday, raising the total to 449.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up after two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

A Kansas City-area church contends in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that Jackson County’s reopening plan discriminates against religious institutions by limiting the number of people who can gather to worship.

Jackson County’s stay-at-home order ends Sunday. The first phase of its reopening plan limits gatherings or social events to 10 or fewer people, which includes religious services, funerals and weddings. It also limits locations larger than 10,000 square feet to 10% occupancy.

The Abundant Life Baptist Church, which has sites in Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs, alleges in the lawsuit that the occupancy restrictions force the church to choose between violating its religious beliefs by not gathering, or face legal consequences for holding services, KMBC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kmbc.com/article/lees-summit-missouri-church-files-suit-claiming-jackson-countys-stay-at-home-order-violates-religious-freedom/32415969">reported</a>.

Jackson County offices were closed Friday to celebrate President Harry Truman’s birthday and a spokeswoman did not immediately return a message seeking reaction.

One of the largest health care companies in the St. Louis area said Friday it is furloughing thousands of workers starting Monday due to economic damage caused by the pandemic. Mercy said the decline in non-coronavirus medical procedures and doctors’ visits has created a financial hardship. The company operates hospitals and medical offices in four states.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1588183540198.png" alt="Rules for reopening Kansas City" />
 <figcaption>Rules for reopening Kansas City</figcaption>
 </figure>LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) —&nbsp; Kansas City and St. Louis County officials announced Friday that they will proceed with the gradual reopening of businesses but with several restrictions in place as efforts continue to slow the spread of the coronavirus.Kansas City will allow restaurants, bars, gyms, museums, the Kansas City Zoo, government buildings and city-maintained playground equipment to open May 15. Lucas and city health officials had hesitated after 11 COVID-19 cases were confirmed at a senior living complex but the mayor said Friday that the reopening would continue. He planned a news conference on Monday to discuss restrictions at restaurants.St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said large venues, including sports courts and playgrounds, public pools, gyms and fitness centers, and banquet rooms, will not be allowed to open May 18.Employees at businesses such as bars and restaurants that do open will be required to wear masks and may refuse service to customers who don't wear masks, Page said. The several other requirements include frequent disinfecting of the premises, testing of employees in danger of contracting COVID-19, and occupancy limits based on the size of the business.“As we start to discuss easing these (stay-at-home) orders, it does not mean we should let our guard down,” Page said “This is a gradual process of reopening our county. A gradual, thoughtful, deliberate and measured process will allow us to continue to move forward.”The St. Louis and Kansas City areas have reported a majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Missouri, which on Friday increased by 148 to 9,489. The state also reported 31 news deaths Friday, raising the total to 449.For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up after two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.A Kansas City-area church contends in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that Jackson County’s reopening plan discriminates against religious institutions by limiting the number of people who can gather to worship.Jackson County’s stay-at-home order ends Sunday. The first phase of its reopening plan limits gatherings or social events to 10 or fewer people, which includes religious services, funerals and weddings. It also limits locations larger than 10,000 square feet to 10% occupancy.The Abundant Life Baptist Church, which has sites in Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs, alleges in the lawsuit that the occupancy restrictions force the church to choose between violating its religious beliefs by not gathering, or face legal consequences for holding services, KMBC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kmbc.com/article/lees-summit-missouri-church-files-suit-claiming-jackson-countys-stay-at-home-order-violates-religious-freedom/32415969">reported</a>.Jackson County offices were closed Friday to celebrate President Harry Truman’s birthday and a spokeswoman did not immediately return a message seeking reaction.One of the largest health care companies in the St. Louis area said Friday it is furloughing thousands of workers starting Monday due to economic damage caused by the pandemic. Mercy said the decline in non-coronavirus medical procedures and doctors’ visits has created a financial hardship. The company operates hospitals and medical offices in four states.

Coronavirus Update