Coronavirus pandemic hits close to home in Wichita

Mar. 14--Sedgwick County banned large gatherings, the zoo closed, nursing homes and state prisons went on lockdown, and schools started spring break without a clear path forward as a man in a Wichita hospital became Kansas' sixth case in a coronavirus pandemic on Friday.

The 72-year-old Butler County man recently returned to the United States from a cruise in the western Caribbean Sea. He did not have symptoms while on the cruise or in the days after he returned to his Kansas home, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Lee Norman said.

But after a few days, he was checked in to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, where he is being kept in isolation. How many people he was in close contact with before he was tested is unclear.

Wesley is asking the state to set up public testing sites, saying the number of people who want tested has clogged its emergency room and interfering with the hospital's ability to provide emergency care to patients.

Sedgwick County officials have worked to put distance between the patient and Sedgwick County, declining to brief the public on his case Friday morning and instead reiterating that there are no known cases among Sedgwick County residents.

"It's important to remember that since COVID-19 is not in our community yet, and is not community spread, that the criteria for who is to be tested has not changed," Sedgwick County Health Director Adrienne Byrne said, more than a hour after the Wesley case was reported by news outlets across the country.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and President Donald Trump each declared a state of emergency at the state and federal level in the past two days.

As the pandemic spreads throughout the United States, Sedgwick County is limiting testing to people who are displaying symptoms of the illness and have either recently traveled overseas in countries with large outbreaks or have come in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

The county is asking anyone who has traveled overseas, whether they display symptoms or not, to self-report to the Sedgwick County Health Department to determine if they should self-quarantine for 14 days after returning.

Having no known cases among Sedgwick County residents could allow the county to continue testing a limited number of people under strict criteria.

According to the CDC, a positive test in Sedgwick County's jurisdiction would cause the county to broaden its testing criteria, resulting in more testing throughout the county.

"COVID-19 continues to evolve quickly," Byrne said. "We currently do not have any Sedgwick County residents who are positive for COVID-19. This will change, but as of now, we do not have any Sedgwick County residents who are positive for COVID-19."

Coronavirus has been in the United States for at least seven weeks, starting on the coasts and moving inward. New cases have poured in by the hundreds across the country.

Limited testing and delays in testing make an accurate count of infected Americans nearly impossible. By Friday, more than 1,700 cases were confirmed with more than 40 deaths.

The Butler County man is the sixth case in Kansas and the first in the southern half of the state. Gov. Laura Kelly announced the state's first deadly case Thursday night. A man in his 70s who lived in a long-term care facility died in Wyandotte County. He was not tested until after his death, so his case was not among the four cases reported by the state this past week.

Widespread cancellations

Sedgwick County banned large gatherings in the county until further notice starting Friday. The ban extends to all events with more than 250 people. It would not include grocery stores, other retailers or schools, but would include church services, according to County Health Officer Garold Minns.

"They can have less than 250," he said.

With the announcement, a number of organizations scrambled to reschedule events. The county announced that the St. Patrick's Day parade scheduled for noon Saturday in Delano was canceled. The Wichita Symphony Orchestra canceled its weekend concerts. The Wichita Art Museum canceled all events through March 30, although the museum itself remains open.

The Sedgwick County Zoo closed to the public at 5 p.m. on Friday and will remain closed until further notice.

The city of Wichita is canceling all of its events with 250 people or more including this weekend's car show and is canceling classes marketed to high-risk populations for the next 14 days, according to a news release from the city. The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship at Intrust Bank Arena was moved to June 20 and the gun show at Hartman Arena was canceled. Mamafilm Microcinema announced it would close until March 28 and would reschedule Catvideofest 2020.

Minns has exercised his authority under state law to prohibit public gatherings to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus illness. It's not clear if or how the ban could be enforced.

"We're hoping that the community will be responsible and play their role," Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner said when asked about enforcement at a news conference Friday.

For now, officials are urging Sedgwick County residents not to panic and to practice good hygiene, including washing hands, using hand sanitizer -- if they can find it -- and preventing the spread of body fluids.

"I want to remind the public that Sedgwick County residents are at low risk for infection currently from COVID-19," Minns said.

The county will continue deliberating whether to cancel classes for Wichita public schools after students return from spring break, which started Friday and will continue next week. Several of the state's universities, including Wichita State, announced Thursday that they would cancel classes next week and hold online-only classes after spring break.

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