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 27.
10:47 p.m. | Lawrence Unified School District 497 will not begin the 2020-21 school year until Sept. 8.
The Board of Education voted Monday night to approve pushing back the year's start date and having all instruction be "100% distance learning."
The school board voted to start the school year September 8 with six weeks of 100% distance learning. It will review that model and public health data at its September 28 board meeting.
— Lawrence USD 497 (@usd497) July 28, 2020
The board is expected to review the plan and health data at its Sept. 28 meeting.
6:30 p.m. | Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Dr. Lee Norman told 41 Action News on Monday that there are steps schools can take to protect students from COVID-19 but said there is "no way you can mitigate the risk down to zero."
5 p.m. | Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Monday she is considering taking the state back to Phase 2 of the Ad Astra Plan based on the state’s COVID-19 case numbers.
Phase 2 would limit mass gatherings to 15 or fewer people and close bars and nightclubs.
4:30 p.m. | Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said he doesn’t put “much stock” in New York’s response to his state’s growing number of coronavirus cases.
Last week, New York added Missouri to its mandatory quarantine list, along with nine other states.
“They’re a disaster to start off with the way they’ve handled their situation,” Parson said of New York during a press briefing on Monday. “So, I think probably people are smart enough in this state, probably they don’t want to go to New York, unless you just had to go there for some reason or another.”
3:55 p.m. | Wyandotte County on Monday issued a new order that prohibits public schools from opening with in-person classes until after Labor Day.
2:52 p.m. | The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said there’s been a decrease of vaccinations for children since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In April, vaccination rates were down 50 percent compared with April 2019.
Now, the department is reminding families to take their children for vaccines and is partnering with the Missouri chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and local health agencies to help provide them.
For more information, visit the DHSS website.
2:30 p.m. | Data from state and local health departments show Missouri reported 1,189 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, pushing the statewide total to 44,429. It is the sixth time in the last seven days that the state has reported more than 1,000 new cases in a single day. Prior to last Monday, the state had only reported more than 1,000 cases in a single day one other time since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data kept by 41 Action News.
The state also added 11 new deaths on Monday, pushing that total to 1,244. Two of the new deaths on Monday were reported in Jackson County.
In Kansas, data showed 852 new cases were reported on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to 26,360. Kansas reported three additional deaths on Monday, including one from Wyandotte County. The state has now reported 335 total coronavirus-related deaths.
The seven-county Kansas City metropolitan area combined to add 693 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, pushing the area total to 19,461. Nearly 340 people have now died in the Kansas City area from the virus.
1:10 p.m. | St. Louis County has introduced new restrictions as officials look to stem the growth of COVID-19 in the area. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said Monday that the restrictions will include limiting gatherings to 50 people, imposing a 25% business occupancy limit and prohibiting bars from serving customers past 10 p.m., according to a report from KSDK.
1 p.m. | Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly will hold a press briefing at 4 p.m. Monday to discuss rising COVID-19 cases in the state. 41 Action News will share the briefing live on Facebook.
11:30 a.m. | The Black Bob Bay and Mill Creek pools in Olathe will now be open to both Olathe residents and non-residents for the rest of the outdoor pool season.
Black Bob Bay will close after Sunday, Aug. 9. Mill Creek will continue to be open until Labor Day, Sept. 7.
Online registration is required for people to visit the pools, and capacity is limited. Visit the city's website for more information on pools and schedules.
11 a.m. | Jackson County will conduct COVID-19 testing between noon and 3 p.m. Monday at the Health Department, 313 S. Liberty Street in Independence. Testing is open to the public. Online registration is encouraged.
10:12 a.m. | The University of Missouri will fully transition to mobile ticketing for sporting events this fall. The decision was made to limit contact and prevent the spread of COVID-19. The university already had mobile ticketing available as an option.
9:40 a.m. | The University of Kansas Health System said three patients died from COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the health system's total to 30 patients since March. The health system went several weeks without any deaths from the virus.
Some COVID-19 patients have been in the hospital for over 80 days. The average length of stay for patients there is eight days.
9:20 a.m. | The 2020 American Royal Pro Rodeo has been canceled due to COVID-19.
8:54 a.m. | University of Kansas Health System officials gave their daily COVID-19 update and talked about vaccine trials taking place. They also mentioned several COVID-19 deaths within their system over the weekend.
7:20 a.m. | The world's biggest COVID-19 vaccine test got underway Monday with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers, according to the Associated Press.
The experimental vaccine is made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc. It's one of several candidates in the final stretch of the global vaccine race.
5:30 a.m. | The American Red Cross has an emergency shortage of convalescent plasma. The plasma is from patients who have recovered from a positive COVID-19 diagnosis and is being used as a treatment for those sick with the virus. The Red Cross said that as coronavirus cases rise across the U.S. the demand for the plasma has doubled.
Fully recovered COVID-19 patients can sign up to donate plasma on the Red Cross website.
5 a.m. | Gov. Mike Parson plans to hold one press briefing this week. He will give an update on current events in the state at 3 p.m. on Monday.
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
Wednesday, July 15
Thursday, July 16
Friday, July 17
Monday, July 20
Tuesday, July 21
Wednesday, July 22
Thursday, July 23
Friday, July 24
