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.
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 August 4.
8:36 p.m. | The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools Board of Education adopted a recommendation to begin remote learning on Sept. 8 for the upcoming school year.
Board members said in a meeting Tuesday night that classes will be completely remote for at least the first quarter unless the number of COVID-19 cases declines consistently in the area.
7:10 p.m. | The Blue Springs School District has pushed back the start date for the upcoming school year to Sept. 8.
6:13 p.m. | The Shawnee Mission School District announced its fall sports conditioning activities have been canceled and fall sports will begin on Aug. 17.
The district said, "During the suspension, all student/athletes and performing arts students will be expected to continue mitigation practices, including avoiding social gatherings, so that hopefully schools can begin the fall activities season, following Johnson County Department of Health and Environment guidelines.”
Parents and students will receive additional information about fall sports on Aug. 17.
6:06 p.m. | Liberty Public Schools announced school will now begin in on Sept 8., following a Tuesday morning board meeting.
The new start date will apply to all students regardless if they're participating in face-to-face classes or virtual classes.
3:31 p.m. | Those who attended the Crawford County Fair on July 30 should monitor for COVID-19 symptoms, according to the county health department.
People in the grandstands during the animal shows from 8-11 a.m., along with anyone on the fairgrounds between 6:30 and 9 p.m. might have been exposed to the virus.
2:50 p.m. | The Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development will host a virtual career fair Wednesday, August 5, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
According to the department, "The virtual job fair platform will include open job listings by industry, a chance for employers to host live chats, give presentations about the companies they work for and job opportunities, and speak with job candidates."
People can register for the fair here until 4 p.m on Tuesday and a "day-of" access link will go live on the website on Wednesday.
2:30 p.m. | The American Royal announced Tuesday that the World Series of Barbecue is canceled for 2020. The event was originally scheduled for Sept. 17-20 at Kansas Speedway.
Organizers made the decision to cancel due to COVID-19 concerns
1 p.m. | In an interview with Axios, which aired Monday night, President Donald Trump said he again believes that his administration has the coronavirus pandemic "under control," despite the fact that deaths linked to the virus are currently on the rise throughout the country.
Noon | The Excelsior Springs School District says the first day of school has been moved back to Tuesday, Sept. 8, after the school board voted to adjust the district's reopening plan.
All secondary students will return on an A/B schedule, meaning half of them will go to school in person on a given day. Elementary students will attend in person every day.
For more information, visit the district's website.
10:30 a.m. | Hy-Vee says it will begin accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)/Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) at all of its locations that offer online grocery pickup.
The company says pickup service has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"By offering SNAP/EBT as a payment option for pickup, we can now serve more customers with our Hy-Vee Aisles Online pickup service,” said Tom Crocker, senior vice president of e-commerce for Hy-Vee. “As we work to continually improve our e-commerce offerings, this is just one more way we can help our customers who want to shop from the comfort of their home versus venturing to the grocery store.”
8:46 a.m. | University of Kansas Health System officials gave their daily COVID-19 updatde.
7:20 a.m. | Just starting your day? We’ve got you covered with a quick look at what you need to know.
6:50 a.m. | Dr. Dana Hawkinson of the University of Kansas Health System joined 41 Action News to talk about heading to the polls during a pandemic.
5:30 a.m. | Around 23 million Americans are at risk of being evicted as moratoriums on rent end around the country, according to the Associated Press.
The federal eviction moratorium that protects more than 12 million renters living in federally subsidized apartments or units with federally backed mortgages expired July 25. If it’s not extended, landlords can initiate eviction proceedings in 30 days.
5 a.m. | The Johnson County Election Office says there will be 167 polling locations available for the primary elections scheduled for Tuesday.
The locations will be open to people from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and will have the following safety precautions so voters are safe:
- Physical distancing between voters, election workers and voting equipment
- Plexiglass shields to separate voters and election workers during the check-in process
- Personal protective equipment provided to election workers
- Sanitation supplies available to clean voting booths and equipment
- Masks and hand sanitizer available to voters
- Single-use pen or stylus for marking paper ballots or touchscreen voting equipment
- Additional signage to help voters navigate the advance voting location safely
A spokesman for the election office said it mailed more than 106,000 ballots to voters for the primary election, which is far more than in past elections.
Voters can find their polling location here.
Previous coverage:
March 2020 updates
April 2020 updates
May 2020 updates
June 2020 updates
July 2020 updates
Monday, August 3
