TOPEKA, Kan. — Both Kansas and Missouri officials have announced increased testing throughout the state, one of the criteria suggested by the federal government when considering ending stay-at-home orders.
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Here is what each state’s top officials have said about the coronavirus in their respective states.
Kansas
Kansas Department of Health and Environment Director Dr. Norman Lee said in a briefing on April 24 that the trends look much better now than they did one week ago.
As of 3 p.m. on April 24, Kansas reported 2,777 positive cases, resulting in 111 deaths. Five days ago, Kansas reported 92 deaths. That’s an average of nearly four deaths a day.
“We have seen a nice drop in the number of hospitalized, clinical care and ventilized patients,” Dr. Lee said.
He said that there is also a marked difference with the number of daily deaths across the state. Only three new deaths have been reported over the past three days.
Less burden on hospitals coupled with increased testing capacity now allows the state to shift from simply testing those who are ill to testing populations as a whole. Doing so can help officials truly understand the spread of the virus and enact better safety and preventative measures. While these population tests begin, Lee said positive cases will continue to rise, but that’s to be expected.
“More testing, higher numbers should not be perceived as a negative thing,” he said.
Gov. Kelly said the state will be ready to leave its stay-at-home order behind next week as officials continue to gain control over the illness.
“We feel optimistic that Kansas is close to reaching its peak infection rate if we haven’t already,” Kelly said. “We will announce state guidance for safely reopening the Kansas economy in phases.”
The Kansas stay-at-home order is set to end on May 1.
Missouri
In Missouri, at least 15 private laboratories and institutions have begun participating in state testing, according to a statement from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. That means that 50,000 tests could be performed each week.
“We now have the testing capability to go in and immediately start testing at food processing facilities when a positive test is received,” Dr. Randall Williams said in a statement. “This is an example of our strategy going forward of using our increased testing capabilities to limit the spread of infection.”
The DHSS stated that new, rapid point-of-care testing devices have been deployed throughout the state, which provide quick, on-the-spot testing for any new hotspots that pop up.
Gov. Mike Parson also said the numbers for the effects of the coronavirus in Missouri are looking much better now than they were in past weeks.
“We have drastically improved the predictions for Missouri,” Parson said during a briefing on April 24.
6,625 positive cases had been reported, resulting in 262 deaths as of 3 p.m. on April 24. That’s an increase of 73 reported deaths since April 21, averaging 24 deaths a day. A majority of recent deaths have come from the St. Louis area.
Parson said the state is on track to open back up and get people back to work on May 4.
