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 July 15.
10:53 p.m. | The seven-county Kansas City metro area set a new single-day record with 678 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday across Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri. There are now 14,344 cases, including 313 deaths, in those counties.
Missouri topped 900 new cases for the third straight day, adding 906 new cases based on reports from the state and local health departments. The last five weekdays, going back to last Thursday, have produced the five highest single-day counts for new cases in Missouri.
Kansas added 849 new cases Wednesday, which are the third-most in a single day.
8:22 p.m. | The Big 12 Conference announced Wednesday that the 2020 Virtual Football Media Days have been postponed. Originally planned for next Monday and Tuesday, the season preview event will now take place Aug. 3.
“As everyone is aware, our head coaches and student-athletes have not been able to collectively engage in organized team functions since athletics activities were suspended in March," Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a statement from the Big 12. "We felt it was prudent to give coaches a chance to re-acclimate with their teams prior to participating in our annual season preview event."
7:48 p.m. | The American Girl Store at Oak Park Mall has closed permanently, the company confirmed Wednesday to 41 Action News.
"It has been our privilege to serve this community for a decade," the company said in a statement. "We thank you for your loyalty to American Girl and look forward to continuing our valued relationship with you."
5:30 p.m. | Douglas County will keep bars and nightclubs closed as health officials credit the measure with helping to decrease new cases of COVID-19.
The order, which had been set to expire on Friday, keeps the establishments closed but allows them to operate curbside and carryout services of beverages to be consumed at home.
“Since the bar closing order and the masking order both took effect in early July, we have seen the number of new cases come down, so we believe these have been effective measures to help slow the spread of the virus,” Douglas County Local Health Officer Dr. Thomas Marcellino said in a news release. “However, the disease investigation process has connected a large number of our recent cases directly or indirectly to individuals who congregated at bar environments in June. The number of cases in the community is still higher than it was in earlier months of the pandemic, and LMH Health currently has seven in-patients positive for COVID-19, the highest since the pandemic began.”
Douglas County also will remain in Phase 3 of its reopening plan for now.
4 p.m. | Members and staff of the Missouri House of Representatives were notified Wednesday that two House employees had tested positive for COVID-19.
Since testing positive, the two employees have been self-quarantining at home and have not been working in the Capitol.
House staff have notified people who may have come into contact with the two employees. Those people are now also quarantined at home.
3:30 p.m. | Platte County officials announced Wednesday it will enact a mask policy that mandates indoor and outdoor use when people are not able to maintain social distance.
The policy calls for masks to be work in indoor public spaces including retail stores, special events, workplaces, businesses, places of worship, hotels, gyms, child care facilities, schools or other public facilities.
3 p.m. | Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says she will issue an executive order to delay the opening of schools until after the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 7. She also will issue an order to make school guidance provided by the State Board of Education mandatory.
Kelly said the state, which has reported sharp increases in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, is "now seeing the consequences" of counties choosing to reject a mask mandate the governor ordered earlier this month.
1:06 p.m. | Clay County has amended its mask order and the new version will go into effect Sunday. Now, masks will be required in all public indoor spaces in Clay County. The change comes as the county has seen a 36% increase in COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks and a 300% increase in virus-related hospitalizations over the last month.
1 p.m. | The University of Kansas says it will test for COVID-19 all students, faculty and staff who return to campus for the fall semester. The Lawrence Journal-World reported Chancellor Douglas Girod said in a video message Wednesday that the university has made arrangements with the Clinical Reference Laboratory in nearby Lenexa to conduct the saliva testing, according to the Associated Press.
11:55 a.m. | The University of Missouri-Kansas City has installed two vending machines on campus that will sell only personal protective equipment, including surgical face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. UMKC students also can buy a kit from the machines that includes a mask, gloves and wipes.
10:45 a.m. | Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, described the state's recent increase in COVID-19 cases as "awful" during a Wednesday morning briefing with University of Kansas Health System officials. On Monday, the state added more than 1,000 new cases in a single day, the first time it has done so.
Norman said communities have “fumbled” the ball on keeping numbers down, citing inattentiveness, large gatherings and politics.
9:50 a.m. | Walmart and Sam’s Club announced Wednesday that they will require customers to wear face coverings in their stores and clubs starting Monday, July 20.
In addition to posting signage at the front of our stores, Walmart says it has created the role of “Health Ambassador” and will station that employee near the entrance to remind those without a mask of the new requirements.
9:22 a.m. | Olathe Public Schools plans to make a decision about fall classes on Thursday after Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly releases state guidelines Wednesday afternoon.
Tomorrow, Thursday, July 16, the Olathe Public Schools Board of Education will be briefed on our district’s measures that will be implemented. You can watch the livestream by visiting our YouTube page. (2/3)
— Olathe Public Schools (@olatheschools) July 15, 2020
8:40 a.m. | University of Kansas Health System officials were joined by Dr. Lee Norman of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for their daily coronavirus update.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson said the hospital system had 22 COVID-19 patients on Monday and that has since risen to 30.
7:20 a.m. | Just starting your day? We’ve got you covered with a quick look at what you need to know.
5:30 a.m. | Wyandotte County has added new amendments to its mask order, which include a requirement that athletes must wear a mask while exercising indoors, whether at a gym or during team sports activities.
Outdoor exercise remains exempt from the mask requirement.
Another amendment to the order requires all staff and children over the age of 5 to wear a mask in day care, child care or educational settings.
Previous exemptions to the mask requirement remain in effect.
The amended order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, July 15.
5:20 a.m. | The Johnson County Library is partnering with Catholic Charities to serve summer meals to children 18 and under. Up to five breakfast and five lunch meals will be provided per eligible child. The next event will be held from 10-11 a.m. Wednesday, July 15, at the library's Antioch branch, 8700 Shawnee Mission Parkway in Merriam.
Other distributions will be held every Wednesday through July 29, all from 10-11 a.m.
5 a.m. | The Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department, and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services are holding a three-day COVID-19 testing event for Missouri residents that ends on Wednesday. Testing will be held at the Homefield Sports Facility from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Up to 2,000 tests are available by appointment. As of Monday, those spots were all filled.
Previous coverage:
March 2020 updates
April 2020 updates
May 2020 updates
June 2020 updates
Wednesday, July 1
Thursday, July 2
Friday, July 3
Monday, July 6
Tuesday, July 7
Wednesday, July 8
Thursday, July 9
Friday, July 10
Monday, July 13
Tuesday, July 14
