KANSAS CITY, Mo. — 41 Action News is offering a daily recap of COVID-19 related stories from across Kansas City and the country. Check back every morning for the latest developments.
LATEST: COVID-19 case tracker for Missouri, Kansas and Kansas City
University of Kansas Health System daily update
The University of Kansas Health System is treating 12 patients with active COVID-19 infections, of which four are in the ICU and two are on ventilators.
Dr. Kenny Southwick, the executive director of Cooperating School Districts of Greater KC; Dr. Joe Gilhaus, the director of secondary schools for the Shawnee Mission School District; and Nicole Kirby, director of communication services at the Park Hill School District joined the doctors to talk about plans for prom and graduation and safety precautions that will be in place.
Blood donors needed as supply runs low
The Kansas City area is running critically low on blood donations as the pandemic has deterred both donors and blood drives.
Those who have been vaccinated are still allowed to donate blood as long as they feel well.
Kansas City University vaccinates higher ed students
Kansas City University medical students are volunteering to staff clinics targeted at vaccinating area college students. The clinics are providing COVID-19 vaccinations to students from Rockhurst University, Avila University and the Kansas City Art Institute.
Tracking COVID relief funding for child care
The COVID-19 pandemic caused many child care facilities to close down for a few months in 2020 and has resulted in fewer children attending and an increased cost for PPE and other safety measures. Some facilities are relying on federal funding to keep their doors open.
Missouri has received a total of $973 million in federal funding from stimulus packages to keep child care facilities operating. Kansas has received $468 million.
Kansas City-area doctors weigh-in on safety of children against the UK variant of COVID-19
The U.K. variant of the COVID-19 virus is now the dominant strain in the U.S., and several outbreaks have been tied to child care facilities.
Kansas City area doctors sat down with the I-Team to talk about how safe children really are when attending these facilities.
Kansas City brewery, taproom incentivize COVID-19 vaccinations
Bier Station is hosting vaccine clinics at their taproom and Crane Brewing is offering free six-packs of beer to those with vaccination cards in order to prompt increased vaccination rates in the Kansas City community.
Douglas County Commissioners vote to extend mask mandate, social distancing
The Douglas County Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to extend the county's mask mandate and social distancing requirements.
The updated order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday and remains in place until May 26.
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