The entire state of Kansas will be under a “Stay at Home” order as of 12:01 am, Monday March 30. Governor Laura Kelly made the announcement this morning. The order extends through April 19, and is subject to extension if necessary. The order will be reviewed on a regular basis.
The Stay At Home Order has no direct impact on Johnson County as we have been under such an order for a week already. Prior to the governor’s announcement, counties made their own decision regarding Stay at Home. As the number and geographic distribution of confirmed cases expanded, a statewide order was called for.
The governor’s announcement makes Kansas the 23rd state to issue a statewide order. While the local order has helped to slow the spread, it has not been enough to stop it. The purpose of the Stay at Home Order is to "flatten the curve" of the number of cases. By keeping the number of cases from spiking, hospitals are not as overwhelmed as they might be, resources such as ventilators and ICU beds are more likely available, and frontline medical practitioners are better-able to manage the caseload. For more information, read this article from the Kansas City Star on our state's hospital capacity.
The state continues to work with the private sector to expand testing capacity as it is estimated confirmed cases in Kansas could hit 900 over the next week.
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As I mentioned in my newsletter a week ago, these times call for creativity and changes our perspective on the things we value most. Yesterday was my wife’s birthday and we celebrated with a ZOOM family gathering. Each of our daughters prepared the same dessert and for an hour, we enjoyed the dessert and chatted with each other. 