KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A document from Columbia University's Brown Institute for Media shows Lansing Correctional Facility is the largest contributor to the COVID-19 outbreak in Kansas.
As of Monday, 926 cases and six deaths, including two staff members, have been traced back to the facility, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Coming in behind the Lansing prison is the Tyson Foods meatpacking plant near Garden City, which has had 571 cases and one death, according to the Columbia University document.
The I-Team obtained the document, which was not intended for public release, on Monday.
The records list several area businesses, including long-term care facilities such as Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation Center.
Several residents of Riverbend have died from COVID-19 during an outbreak at the facility. Several lawsuits also have been filed against Riverbend.
Last week, a bill was passed that would protect businesses and health care workers who have followed local guidance on best practices for mitigating the virus.
The bill still needs to be signed by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.
The data was initially provided to Columbia through email by the Kansas Health Network, which is used by the Kansas Department for Health and Environment.
The email to Columbia asked for the information to only be shared with local health departments.
When asked why the information wasn't being disseminated to the public, Kristi Zears, a spokesperson for KDHE, said: "Local health departments are the ones who generally investigate clusters, with the exception of the correctional facilities. The decisions to release information about clusters are made at the local level. KDHE will release names of clusters if we are needing to identify people who may have been exposed and a media release is needed."
Several churches also were identified as a source of outbreaks in the document.
