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 briefing
The University of Kansas Health System had three COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours. The system also has 67 patients with active virus infections. Of those, 22 are in the ICU and seven on ventilators. Another 28 patients are still recovering from the virus; three of those patients are still on ventilators.
Health system officials took the time to answer audience questions on Friday.
Staff shortages hitting Kansas City-area school districts
Teachers getting COVID-19 or having to quarantine for coming in contact with the virus is causing staffing shortages in school districts around the Kansas City area. In turn, substitutes are in high demand and are also short-staffed.
Community health clinic braces for COVID-19 resurgence
Vibrant Health is seeing staff shortages at its Kansas City, Kansas-area clinics. It's also seeing a drop in patient numbers, as people are nervous to seek medical attention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Independence schools extend Thanksgiving break
The Independence School District is extending its Thanksgiving break to allow for cleaning in all school buildings. Students will now have the entire week of the holiday off, instead of just Wednesday through Friday.
Teachers union calls Missouri Gov. Parson's new quarantine recommendations 'reckless'
Gov. Mike Parson is facing backlash from educators, school officials and parents after announcing updated K-12 COVID-19 guidelines. The new state recommendation is that as long as schools have mask mandates and students and staff are wearing masks correctly, those who come in contact with a COVID-19 positive person do not have to quarantine.
Kansas City health officials said they will not advise schools to follow the updated guidance and will still encourage those in contact with COVID-19 to quarantine, even if both parties were wearing a mask.
Blue Springs hospital failed to inform patient about positive COVID-19 test
A Jackson County woman is frustrated after she was notified that she tested positive for COVID-19 nine days after being released from the hospital.
KC-based vaccine trial to focus on underserved communities with mobile unit
Children's Mercy, the University of Kansas Medical Center and Truman Medical Center are collaborating to use a new tool to attract more people to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial. A mobile unit will travel to underserved areas around Kansas City and Wichita to reach Black, Latinx and older populations with hopes of getting them involved.
Utility companies want to track COVID-19 costs
Evergy, the Kansas City metro's primary utility company, is asking for permission to track costs and savings related to COVID-19. If the request is approved, the company could decide later to recover its losses through customer billing.
MU will switch to remote learning after Thanksgiving
The University of Missouri - Columbia announced Thursday that it will switch to remote learning to finish out the semester following Thanksgiving break, citing rising COVID-19 cases in the broader community.
Johnson County calls special meeting to discuss COVID-19
The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners called a special meeting for Friday to address the recent wave of new COVID-19 cases. Officials will meet at 1 p.m. The county's mask mandate is set to expire Nov. 15.
Douglas County, Kansas, to limit size of mass gatherings
Douglas County officials said mass gatherings — instances in which people are in one location and unable to maintain 6 feet of distance between each other — will be limited to 15 people starting Friday, Nov. 13.
Independence reduces hours at city buildings as COVID-19 cases rise
The city of Independence will reduce hours of operation at city buildings and require more staff to work remotely in response to the recent uptick of COVID-19 cases in the area.
COVID-19 continues to spread at an alarming rate as record 150K new cases were reported on Thursday
The U.S. reported over 150,000 new COVID-19 cases just on Thursday, once again breaking the record for the highest number of cases reported in a single day. Since Monday, half a million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Chicago issues stay-at-home advisory that will take effect on Monday
Chicago will be the first major Midwest city to put a stay-at-home order back in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. The city's order goes into effect on Monday.
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