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.
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Updates on the spread of the virus and how it is affecting the metro can be found below for Aug. 17.
7:15 p.m. | Kansas schools in the metro say for the most part, the first day of fall practices went smoothly despite new precautions in place for COVID-19 safety. The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment will meet with school leaders on Tuesday to discuss logistics for athletic competition. —AW
4:15 p.m. | The Kansas City Chiefs will allow fans at Arrowhead Stadium with 22% capacity to kick off the season. Single-game tickets will go on sale Aug. 24 to season-ticket members. If any tickets remain, the purchase opportunity for Jackson County residents, followed by the public, will be announced at a later date. —AW
2:40 p.m. | Kansas reported 1,011 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the fourth day with at least 1,000 new cases since the pandemic began. No additional virus-related deaths were reported in the state.
In Missouri, 920 new cases and 23 additional deaths were reported on Monday, according to data kept by 41 Action News.
The seven-county Kansas City metro added 643 cases and no additional deaths. The Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department has not updated coronavirus figures on its website since Thursday afternoon. —AW
12:24 p.m. | Kansas State University received permission from Riley County to have fans at Bill Snyder Family Stadium this fall at 25 percent capacity for football games. No tailgating will be allowed and face masks will be required. -KB
12:15 p.m. | The University of Missouri announced event restrictions being put in place to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as students return to campus. All events involving staff and students are limited to 20 people both on and off-campus. Any event held or that is granted an exception to be more than 20 people will have to follow social distancing and masking guidelines.
The university is also requiring all students and staff to notify the school of a positive COVID-19 test within four hours of getting the results. Students must notify the Student Health Center.
MU will also be rolling out a "#CampusClear" symptom checking app. It will be used as a pass to access some locations on campus based on how students answer questions about how they're feeling that day. -KB
11:45 a.m. | Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx will be in Missouri meeting with Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday. She will be at the Governor's Mansion for a roundtable discussion with Cabinet members and health officials at 9 a.m.
Birx met with Kansas officials over the weekend about COVID-19. - KB
11:40 a.m. | A few free COVID-19 testing events are available this week in Jackson County. There is one happening from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at Metro Christian Fellowship Church in Grandview. The other is happening from 10 a.m. to 20 p.m. Thursday at Old Fire Station #3 in Lee's Summit. Testing is available to anyone with or without symptoms and those interested can register online. - KB
#COVID19 #testing happening this week in @cityofLS and @CityofGrandview. Tests are available for #symptomatic and #asymptomatic individuals. Please refer to the graphic below or visit the link in our bio for more details! pic.twitter.com/PEjr3YRzNF
— Jackson County MO (@JacksonCountyMO) August 17, 2020
9:30 a.m. | The United States has reached another grim milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation’s death toll has surpassed 170,000, Johns Hopkins data showed Monday morning.
On Sunday alone, deaths in the U.S. rose by over 480, according to a Reuters tally, with Florida, Texas and Louisiana reporting the most fatalities.
The U.S. continues to lead the world in deaths and the number of cases reported, with at least 5.4 million people diagnosed with the novel coronavirus in the country. Johns Hopkins shows the next highest country is Brazil, with over 3.3 million diagnosed and 107,000 dead. - KB
9 a.m. | University of Kansas Health System officials gave their daily COVID-19 update. -KB
7:30 a.m. | Just starting your day? We’ve got you covered with a quick look at what you need to know. - KB
7:15 a.m. | Blue Valley North High School will begin fall sports on Monday, Aug. 17, under new guidelines, the school announced Friday morning.
Athletes must all have a completed physical packet before trying out for the teams.
They must also wear a mask and have labeled water bottles.
A full list of the school's athletic calendar can be found here. -KB
7 a.m. | The Shawnee Mission School District is preparing to begin fall sports Monday, according to a letter sent to parents by SM East Athletic Director Debbie Katzfey that detailed the school’s coronavirus mitigation plan.
Among the protocols SM East has put in place, students will be required to use a daily COVID-19 assessment app on their phones, which will also track attendance at practice to aid in contact tracing in the event it is necessary.
SM East, which had to suspend summer workouts at least twice due to positive tests, will require all students to wear masks before and after practice as well as during warmups, but they won’t be required during periods of intense activity. -KB
Previous coverage:
March 2020 updates
April 2020 updates
May 2020 updates
June 2020 updates
July 2020 updates
Monday, August 3
Tuesday, August 4
Wednesday, August 5
Thursday, August 6
Friday, August 7
Monday, August 10
Tuesday, August 11
Wednesday, August 12
Thursday, August 13
Friday, August 14
