KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, continues to spread across the world, and in Missouri and Kansas.
41 Action News is keeping track of all closings and cancellations, as well as tracking where positive coronavirus cases are located.
We are also keeping track of which metro jurisdictions are under stay at home orders for the foreseeable future, only allowing for essential business and activities.
If you are a business finding unique ways to serve our community, check our KC Open for Business Facebook group to share your ideas.
Updates on the spread of the virus and how it is affecting the metro can be found below for April 8.
9:30 p.m. | Nearly 50 residents at a Kansas City, Kansas, rehabilitation facility have tested positive for COVID-19.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Health Department confirmed in a tweet Wednesday night that 48 residents at Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation tested positive, eight staff have tested positive, seven residents are hospitalized and there have been six deaths.
The facility announced four deaths on Monday.
8:37 p.m. | Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said he disagreed with Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly's comments that the reversal of the order to limit the size of religious gatherings was an "unnecessary distraction."
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt issued the following statement in response to requests for comment after Governor Kelly’s afternoon news conference:
“My point of view should not have been surprising to the governor because my office repeatedly advised against issuing the overreaching executive order regulating churches and notified her I would express my concerns publicly if she proceeded," Schmidt said in the statement. "She did, and so did I."
However, Schmidt said that it is important for Kansans to "follow sound public health advice and do not gather for religious services or for any other reason until the COVID-19 crisis has passed."
"I am confident Kansans of faith can be trusted to follow that important advice without their government threatening criminal sanctions for disobedience," he said in the statement.
8:00 p.m. |Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. issued a statement regarding race and ethnicity being included in Kansas City, Missouri's COVID-19 data, stating that those facts will “enhance the racial divide in our county and city.”
7:50 p.m.| St. Clair County, Missouri, reported its first coronavirus cases. The patients are a 78-year-old man and a 76-year-old female. The cases, according to a news release, are not travel related and the two patients are in quarantine.
6:40 p.m. | Several insurance companies announced rate cuts or other payments for auto customers Wednesday. Farmer's and 21st Century announced that all auto customers will receive a 25% premium in April "to reflect the changed driving environment resulting from various stay-at-home guidelines issued across the country."
American Family Insurance announced a plan to return $200 million in premiums in the form of $50 checks for each vehicle covered by an auto policy.
Farmers and 21st Century also announced flexible payments plans and temporary suspension of policy cancellations.
4:42 p.m. | The NFL announced Wednesday that it will incorporate a three-day virtual fundraiser with the 2020 NFL Draft. The "Draft-A-Thon" on April 23-25 will benefit the American Red Cross, CDC Foundation's All of Us: Combat Coronavirus Campaign, Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund, Meals on Wheels COVID-19 Response Fund, Salvation Army and United Way's COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund.
4:36 p.m. | Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said in a press conference on Wednesday that the Kansas Department of Labor received 1.6 million calls on Monday. The previous record was 877,000 last week.
Kelly also said that lawmakers overturning her executive orderthat restricted the size of religious gathers was "bizarre, confusing" and "overtly political."
3 p.m. | Kansas City, Missouri, officials say 19 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total cases in KCMO to 253. No additional deaths related to the virus were reported in the last day.
2 p.m. | KCPT, the PBS station in Kansas City, will shift its daytime programming beginning April 13 to feature lessons and educational programs for students and their families at home. The programming changes will remain in effect through the stay-at-home order.
1:45 p.m. | Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte told 41 Action News that his agency is making some adjustments during the coronavirus pandemic and “looking at this as an opportunity” for longer-term changes.
1 p.m. | Jones Bar-B-Q has launched a vending machine filled with barbecue outside its store at 6706 Kaw Drive in Kansas City, Kansas. It's available 24/7 and stocked with some of the restaurant's top-selling items, including chicken wings, burnt ends sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, rib tips and bottled barbecue sauce.
12:45 p.m. | Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says Gov. Laura Kelly's amended order restricting religious gatherings is good advice but likely violates state constitutional and statutory protections for religious freedom. The order cannot be enforced through arrest or fines, Schmidt says.
Adrienne Vallejo Foster, a Republican candidate for Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, on Wednesday called on Kelly to rescind the order and for local law enforcement to disregard it, saying that churches should hold services on Easter Sunday "while maintaining safe standards of social distancing and making accommodations as they see fit."
11:45 a.m. | U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, announced $15 million in grants from the Department of Health and Human Services to support 18 community health centers in the state, as well as the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
11:24 a.m. | New COVID-19 cases reported this morning across the Kansas City area have pushed the confirmed number of cases in the seven-county metro above 1,000. Thirty-eight of those residents have died.
11:21 a.m. | A Johnson County Courthouse employee has tested positive for COVID-19, the Johnson County District Attorney's Office confirmed Wednesday morning.
Some staff continues to work inside the Johnson County Courthouse in Olathe and Johnson County District Court remains operations, though it went to 100% remote hearing last week.
The employee who tested positive was removed from the courthouse and quarantined, along with any staff who were in close proximity, and the courthouse was cleaned and sanitized.
11:15 a.m. | Westside Family Church will hold a food drive Friday at its locations in Lenexa and Kansas City, Kansas. The drive will support the church’s community partners, foster agency partners and school partners. More details and a list of requested items can be found online.
11:10 a.m. | Ball's Food Stores, which operates a number of Hen House Market, Pay Less Discount Foods, Price Chopper and Sun Fresh locations in the metro, will close all of its stores at 3 p.m. on Easter Sunday.
10:49 a.m. | The Burns & McDonnell Foundation announced a $1.5 million donation to the United Way COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund.
The fund supports communities across the country, but $750,000 of the donation will be directed toward efforts here in Kansas City.
10:31 a.m. | U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, announced that the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded more than $27.7 million in COVID-19 response grant funding to 29 community health centers in the state. Here is a look at where the money will go in the Kansas City area:
- Health Care Coalition of Lafayette Lexington - $617,075
- Northwest Health Services, Inc. St. Joseph - $1,179,530
- Compass Health, Inc. Clinton - $1,281,110
- Regional Health Care Clinic, Inc. Sedalia - $893,480
- Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, Inc. Kansas City - $1,100,720
- Swope Health Services Kansas City - $1,666,745
- Kansas City Care Clinic Kansas City - $838,175
10:30 a.m. | Starlight Theatre has postponed its 18th annual Blue Star Awards ceremony, originally scheduled for May 21, until Friday, July 31. Nominations will now be announced on its Facebook page on the date of the original ceremony, May 21. The event recognizes high school theater students from the metro.
10:20 a.m. | Abundant Life in Lee's Summit is providing a drive-thru food pantry on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2-6 p.m. and Sundays from 1-3 p.m. at 1300 SW Jefferson St. Social distancing guidelines will be followed.
10:15 a.m. | Lawrence Public Schools says it will discontinue school meal service after Friday, April 10. The district plans to continue to evaluate health concerns and determine whether it is safe to resume services in May. The district also will discontinue technology device repairs and replacement during this time.
10 a.m. | Just starting your day? We’ve got you covered with a quick look at what you need to know.
9:50 a.m. | The Kansas Department of Labor says 50,345 people filed unemployment claims for the week ending April 4, about 5,000 less than the week before. More people received payments last week as more claims were filed.
9:45 a.m. | The St. Joseph Medical Center in south Kansas City says it is accepting donations from the public, including homemade masks. For questions about donations, contact Kim Chalmers, supervisor of senior care services, at 816-943-4543 or by email at KChalmers@primehealthcare.com.
Here is a full list of donations being accepted:
- Homemade Masks
- Disposable face masks
- N95 masks, sometimes called respirators
- Eye protection including face shields and safety goggles
- Disposable gowns
- Disposable gloves, especially non-latex
- Disposable surgical caps
- Disposable foot covers
- Wipes: bleach or antimicrobial
- Hand sanitizer
9 a.m. | Doctors with the University of Kansas Health System gave an update Wednesday morning on COVID-19 in the metro. They stressed the importance of staying home and refraining from family gatherings over the upcoming Easter weekend. They also discussed the measures that pregnant women should be taking during the pandemic.
8:50 a.m. | Johnson County says another resident has died of COVID-19, and Wyandotte County also reports two additional deaths on Wednesday morning. The Kansas City metro now has 985 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 37 deaths.
7:40 a.m. | Dr. Dana Hawkinson with the University of Kansas Health System will be on the 41 Action News morning show Thursday to answer questions about COVID-19. Have a question you want answered? Submit it by clicking here.
7 a.m. | After 11 weeks of lockdown, people went outdoors and by the thousands boarded the first trains and planes leaving Wuhan as the last restrictions on movement were lifted Wednesday in the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic began.
6:30 a.m. | The Missouri Department of Corrections says an inmate being treated for COVID-19 at a Kansas City-area hospital died last week. The inmate, who was held in a negative-airflow isolation chamber at the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph before being transferred to the hospital, tested positive on March 23. He later tested negative and continued to be treated for multiple serious medical conditions.
6:15 a.m. | A RideKC bus operator tested positive for COVID-19. The operator drove route 104 Argentine on April 1 from 12:30 to 8 p.m. The driver did not return to work on April 2.
Previous coverage:
Monday, March 16
Tuesday, March 17
Wednesday, March 18
Thursday, March 19
Friday, March 20
Saturday, March 21
Sunday, March 22
Monday, March 23
Tuesday, March 24
Wednesday, March 25
Thursday, March 26
Friday, March 27
Saturday, March 28
Sunday, March 29
Monday, March 30
Tuesday, March 31
Wednesday, April 1
Thursday, April 2
Friday, April 3
Saturday, April 4
Sunday, April 5
Monday, April 6
Tuesday, April 7
