HUTCHINSON, Kan. — As of 5:30 p.m., Reno County has one presumptive positive case of COVID-19.
As such, Health Officer Nicholas Baldetti, DBA, MBA, MS, has issued Health Order # 20-01 which prohibits mass gatherings to 10 or under within the borders of Reno County. All mass gatherings should adhere to the social distancing guidelines of six feet between individuals.
Additionally, all inter-county travel to Johnson County, Kansas, Wyandotte County, Kansas, Jackson County, Missouri as well as Kansas City will require mandatory 14-day quarantine. This order shall come into effect at 12:01am Sunday, March 22, 2020. It is well within the authority of the Reno County Health Officer to order individuals be placed in enforced quarantine if there is a belief that there is a threat to public health and safety due to the infectious disease COVID-19.
We continue to highly encourage Reno County residents to be dependent on health authorities to provide the most accurate information on COVID-19. Please practice good hygiene with frequent hand washing, proper respiratory etiquette such as coughing and sneezing into your elbow bend, limit handshakes and physical contact. Stay home if you are feeling ill and call your primary care physician to discuss your symptoms.
HEALTH ORDER #20-01
[Pursuant to K.S.A. 65-119 and K.S.A. 65-129b] Now on this 21st day of March, 2020, I Nicholas Baldetti, D.B.A., M.B.A., M.S., the duly appointed Health Officer and Director for the Reno County Health Department, make the following order, pursuant to K.S.A. 65-119, in an effort to mitigate the spread of the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Reno County, Kansas.
WHEREAS, the local Health Officer is authorized and required, pursuant to K.S.A. 65-
119 and K.S.A. 65-129b to immediately exercise and maintain a supervision over known or suspected cases of any infectious or contagious disease during its continuance, and to issue orders seeing that all such cases are properly handled and that the provisions of the Kansas public health laws as to isolation, quarantine and disinfection are duly enforced; and
WHEREAS, the local Health Officer is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and is authorized to prohibit public gatherings when necessary for the control of any and all infectious diseases, pursuant to K.S.A 65-119; and
WHEREAS on the 12th day of March 2020, the Governor of the State of Kansas, Laura Kelly, found that a disaster had occurred, or the threat thereof was imminent as a result of the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the confirmed outbreak and person-to-person spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, COVID-19, a respiratory disease that spreads easily from person to person and may result in serious illness or death, has been confirmed in Kansas, resulting in serious illness and at least two deaths to date in Kansas; and
WHEREAS, such conditions endanger health, safety and welfare of persons and property within the border of Reno County, Kansas; and
WHEREAS, to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Reno County Local Health Officer, all recommend implementation of community mitigation strategies to increase containment of the virus, including cancellation of large gatherings and social distancing in smaller gatherings; and
WHEREAS, the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 and the resulting epidemic in the United States and in Kansas continue to threaten the life and health of our citizens and visitors as well as the economy and remains a public disaster affecting life, health, property and the public peace.
WHEREAS, violation of state or local mandates constitutes the crime of “violation of a disaster emergency proclamation”, pursuant to K.S.A. 48-939, a class A non-person misdemeanor.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED by the Local Health Officer, pursuant to the above authorities, that:
1. Effective at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, March 22, 2020, all public or private mass gatherings as defined below, are prohibited within the border of Reno County.
a. The phrase “mass gathering” as used in this order means any planned or spontaneous, indoor or outdoor, public or private event or convening that will bring together or is likely to bring together 10 or more people in a confined or enclosed space at the same time.
b. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, mass gatherings at: auditoriums, theaters, movie theaters, museums, stadiums, arenas, conference rooms, meeting halls, exhibition centers, taverns, health and fitness centers, recreation centers, and licensed pools.
2. The following activities or facilities are exempt from the prohibition of this order:
a. Operations of the United State Government;
b. Religious Gatherings, as long as attendees engage in appropriate social distancing;
c. Funeral or memorial services or ceremonies;
d. Public, private, or charter schools for instructional purposes, for non-instruction; purposes – such as medication pickup, childcare services, providing meals – and when operating polling places;
e. Childcare locations (including those that operate within a facility that is otherwise subject to the prohibition of this order, residential care centers, and group homes;
f. Hotels and motels, as long as the restaurant and bar guidelines, listed below in subparagraph q, are followed;
g. Military and National Guard facilities;
h. Law enforcement, jail, or correctional facilities, including any facility operated by the Department of Corrections;
i. Any facility being used as part of a government or community response to a natural disaster;
j. Food pantries and shelter facilities, including day centers, established sexual assault and domestic violence centers, established homeless and transitional housing for individuals and families;
k. Detoxification and recovery housing facilities;
l. Apartment or other multi-family residential buildings, except that the prohibitions of paragraph 1 apply to any non-residential facilities, rooms, or operations in such buildings subject to any other exceptions listed in paragraph 2;
m. Shopping malls and other retail establishments where large numbers of people are present but are generally not within arm’s length of one another for more than 10 minutes;
n. Hospitals, medical facilities, and pharmacies;
o. Long term care and assisted living facilities, as long as the facility follows all current Department of Health Services Recommendations for Prevention of COVID-19 in LongTerm Care Facilities and Assisted Living Facilities per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
p. Senior Centers, but only for the service of meals and only if the requirements listed below are followed:
i. Preserve social distancing of 6 feet between tables, booths, bar stools, and ordering counters; and
ii. Cease self-service of unpackaged food, such as in salad bars or buffets;
q. Restaurants and bars, but only if the requirements listed below are followed;
i. Preserve social distancing of 6 feet between tables, booths, bar stools, and ordering counters; and
ii. Cease self-service of unpackaged food, such as in salad bars or buffets;
r. Retail food establishments (grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, truck stops) as long as the requirements listed below are followed:
i. Preserve social distancing of 6 feet between tables, booths, bar stools, and ordering counters; and
ii. Cease self-service of unpackaged food, such as in salad bars or buffets;
s. Office spaces and government service centers;
t. Manufacturing, processing, distribution, and production facilities;
u. Public transportation;
v. Utility facilities;
w. Job centers; and
x. Facilities operated by the Kansas Legislature and Kansas Court System.
3. All public gatherings that bring together or are likely to bring together 10 or fewer people in a single room or confined or enclosed space at the same time should:
a. Preserve social distancing of 6 feet between people, and
b. Follow all other public health recommendations issued by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and all local county and municipal health codes.
4. Effective at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, March 22, 2020, travel to Kansas City and/or Johnson County, Wyandotte County and Jackson County, Missouri will require a mandated 14-day home quarantine.
___________________________
Nicholas Baldetti, D.B.A., M.B.A., M.S.
Director and Health Officer
The Reno County Health Department