KANSAS CITY, Mo. — 41 Action News offers a daily recap of COVID-19 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 seeing more patients on ventilators
The University of Kansas Health System continues to see steep increases in the number of COVID-19 patients being admitted. On Wednesday, the hospital had 78 acute patients, which is “quite a departure from the 30-some that we had a week or 10 days ago,” according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infection diseases expert.
Among those patients, 22 are in the ICU and 14 are on ventilators, which is “a high percentage,” Hawkinson said.
Dr. David Wild said it’s a trend being mirrored in other areas across the region.
“We’ve been in communication with a number of health systems across the metropolitan area and really across the state and region, and this trend up is consistent everywhere that we’ve spoken with,” he said.
During Wednesday’s briefing, doctors also spoke with Justin Hoover, executive director of The Battle Within, about mental health resources for veterans who have been impacted by COVID-19.
Schools reevaluate learning modes amid uptick in cases
With an uptick in cases across the Kansas City metro, school districts facing staffing shortages are making decisions about whether to continue with in-person learning.
On Tuesday, the Shawnee Mission School District's Board of Education voted to give Superintendent Mike Fulton the authority to be more strict with learning modes than the recommendations of the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment.
Despite moving schools to the “red” zone based on incidence and positivity rates, the health department has not recommended that schools make the transition to fully remote learning.
The Blue Valley School District says it will continue with its current learning mode and reevaluate after Thanksgiving break.
Meanwhile, the superintendent for North Kansas City Schools said Tuesday that steep staffing shortages among substitutes and transportation workers “is not sustainable” and warned families that “if we cannot flatten the curve, we will not be able to continue face-to-face instruction.”
Eudora High School announced Tuesday that it will move to remote learning immediately based on guidance from the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department.
KC metro shattering records
The seven-county Kansas City metro already has reported more COVID-19 cases in the first 10 days of November than in the entire month of October.
The region saw a record 14,408 COVID-19 cases, but there have already been 14,898 so far in November.
KC area health leaders also have warned that if the COVID-19 positivity rate continues at its current rate, hospitals will be overwhelmed.
KCK schools to have winter sports
Students in Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools will have the opportunity to participate in winter sports after the Board of Education voted 5-2 on Tuesday to allow the activities.
The Unified Government Public Health Department recently recommended that schools not allow winter sports, but did not make it an order.
The district plans to reevaluate wrestling because it is considered a high-risk sport.
KCPD officers test positive, in quarantine
Kansas City, Missouri, Chief of Police Rick Smith said Tuesday that since March, 131 police officers have tested positive for COVID-19.
Currently, 54 officers are quarantined, 18 are recovering and 113 have returned to work.
Smith said the case numbers are concerning but so far have not impacted KCPD’s coverage.
Mizzou-Georgia football postponed
The University of Missouri football game scheduled for Saturday against the University of Georgia has been postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests in the Mizzou program.
It’s the fourth SEC matchup to be canceled or postponed this week due to COVID-19 cases.
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