The COVID-19 pandemic in Kansas is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Government efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Kansas became highly politicized after Governor

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,''

and the state's

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

-led

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

clashed over measures to be taken in reopening the economy and the mandating of masks in late May. The result being that the state-wide reopening order would become a guideline and each county would be allowed to reopen as they see fit. While research has shown a stabilized case rate in counties with a mask mandate, the state-wide mask mandate includes an "opt-out" provision which many counties continue to exercise. 1,745,263 residents of Kansas are fully vaccinated. That represents 59.9% of the population.

Timeline

The first case was reported in Johnson County on March 7, 2020. It was a woman less than 50 years old with travel history to the Northeastern United States. On March 12, another 3 cases were reported in Johnson County. These were men between the ages of 35 and 65 who had recently traveled to a

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

conference. The first death was reported in

Wyandotte County Wyandotte County (; county code WY) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which ...

, a man in his 70s who died from a heart condition, and tested positive for COVID-19 afterward. On March 13, a case was reported in Wichita, a Butler County man in his 70s with recent international travel. On March 12, Governor Laura Kelly declared a state of emergency. On March 15, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) advised that people returning from travel internationally, on cruise ships, or from California, New York, Washington State, or certain counties in Colorado, should self-isolate for 14 days on return. Governor Kelly stated that schools would temporarily close to in-person learning, and that the

Kansas State Department of Education Kansas State Department Board of Education (KSDE) is Kansas's Board of Education, headquartered in Topeka.Welcome to KSDE
" Kan ...

was coordinating a task force to deal with transitions to online classes, as well as other associated issues. She described COVID-19 as an "unprecedented challenge", and urged residents to be careful, practice "common sense safety measures", and respect those who are most vulnerable. The next day, gatherings of more than 50 people were prohibited as per

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

guidelines. A stricter limit of 10 people was imposed by Johnson County and the Unified Government of Wyandotte (including the Kansas City metropolitan area), in partnership with local governments in Jackson County and Kansas City, Missouri, as well as the closing of all bars, restaurants, and theaters for at least 15 days effective March 17. On March 17, Kelly announced that all K-12 schools in the state would remain closed for the remainder of the school year (becoming the first state to make such a decision).

Stay-at-home order

On March 24, three counties (Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas; and Jackson County, Missouri) all announced that they would impose a

stay-at-home order A stay-at-home order, safer-at-home order, movement control order (more common in Southeast Asia), or lockdown restrictions (in the United Kingdom) – also referred to by loose use of the terms (self-) quarantine, (self-) isolation, or lockdow ...

beginning at 12:01 a.m. On March 28, Governor Kelly enacted a state-wide stay-at-home order taking effect March 30, requiring residents to remain and their residences unless conducting essential shopping, exercise, or medical needs; the state's

leadership issued a joint statement, stating that "we must diligently work together to strike a balance that is in the best interests of all Kansans". Self-isolation mandates were also extended to travel from other states. On April 15, amid pressure from the state's House

majority to lift economic restrictions, the order was extended through May 3, with Kelly citing that "none of our internal predictions indicate that Kansas will peak by April 19." Court documents related to lawsuits over the order by two churches revealed that on April 24, Kelly stated there were no plans to extend the stay-at-home order further, with plans to introduce "less restrictive mass gathering provisions" taking effect May 4.

Lifting of restrictions

On April 30, Governor Kelly announced a phased lifting of restrictions titled '' Ad Astra'', with non-essential businesses, churches, and dine-in restaurants allowed to re-open (subject to social distancing) beginning May 4. Bars would be allowed to offer dine-in service only if food constituted a larger portion of their business than alcohol. Other forms of personal service, recreation, and entertainment venues would remain closed, while counties would be allowed to retain stricter measures (with Wyandotte County remaining under a stay-at-home order through May 15). The second phase was scheduled to begin May 18, allowing for bars at 50% capacity, community centers, gyms, and casinos to re-open. On May 26, Governor Kelly vetoed House Bill 2054, which would have imposed legislative oversight over decisions pursuant to the emergency declaration. She then announced that all state-wide executive orders would be rescinded and shift to guidance only, and that lifting or maintaining restrictions would now become the responsibility of individual counties. Kelly announced a new disaster declaration with a focus on economic recovery, stating that "it is necessary to protect Kansans from the current economic disaster, the economic threat to reopening if we are unable to mitigate and respond and respond to the additional spread of the virus and the imminent threat of surges in escalating cases if we don't conduct serious emergency response activities." However, Governor Kelly advised residents that "just because I am lifting most of the executive order does not mean the current threats from COVID-19 are any less than the threats we have faced over the last few months. Quite the opposite." Some counties with a lower rate of cases (such as Ellis County) chose to lift most restrictions, although some areas chose to maintain an equivalent to the existing Phase 2 requirements. On June 7, '' The Wichita Eagle'' obtained a classified KDHE document via the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, which identified the

Lansing Correctional Facility Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) is a state prison operated by the Kansas Department of Corrections. LCF is located in Lansing, Kansas, in Leavenworth County. LCF, along with the Federal Bureau of Prison's United States Penitentiary, Leave ...

as the state's largest outbreak as of May 19, followed by a

Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, based in Springdale, Arkansas, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork after JBS S.A. It annually ...

plant. By July 29, the state had recorded 349 deaths.

Statewide mask order and local mandates

On June 29, Governor Kelly announced that a statewide order would be implemented to require the wearing of face masks in public spaces when social distancing is not possible, beginning July 3. Kelly explained that "when the pandemic first hit, there was mixed messaging about masks. Now the evidence could not be clearer: wearing a mask is not only safe, but it is necessary to avoid another shutdown." Several areas, including KCK, Douglas County, Wyandotte County, and Wichita, had already implemented their own local orders with similar requirements. The order contains an opt-out provision that allows individual counties to exclude themselves from the state order if they (per consultation with health officials) assert that it is not medically necessary. The provision was described as being a "bipartisan compromise". By July 9, 90 of Kansas's 105 counties had opted out, which included nearly all of the counties with the lowest number of cases in the state, but 6 of the 10 counties with the highest (including Shawnee County, which opted out of the state order because they deemed it too strict and a " one size fits all" approach, but reinstated a county-level order soon afterward). Several cities in counties that did opt out, such as

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, Wichita, Winfield, would enact municipal mandates. The order proved divisive: the '' Anderson County Review'' attracted controversy for publishing a

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

-themed

political cartoon A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine ...

criticizing the order online, showing a drawing of Governor Kelly in a Star of David mask in front of a photo of Jews on a train, captioned "Lockdown Laura says: put on your mask, and step onto the cattle car." In October 2020, a 59-year-old was arrested for threatening to kidnap and murder Mayor of Wichita Brandon Whipple over a local mask mandate. In August 2020, ''The Hill'' reported that case rates had lessened in a sample of 15 counties that did not opt out of the mask mandate. In October 2020, researchers at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

again found that case rates per-capita were relatively stable in the (by then) 21 counties that had implemented the mask mandate, but have continued to climb in counties without the mandate. A

study published in late-November presented similar findings. As of December 12, 2020, Gove County had the highest COVID-19 death rate in the U.S., losing 1 out of 132 people to the virus. Mask wearing remained controversial among local residents. On December 15, Mayor of

Dodge City Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...

Joyce Warshaw resigned effective immediately, after having received threats over her support of a mask mandate.

Social impact

Sports

On March 12, the Kansas State High School Activities Association cancelled the remaining two days of its state basketball tournaments, which were being held in

, Hutchinson, Salina, Emporia, and Wichita. On March 18, the KSHSAA cancelled all spring sports. Also on March 12, the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

canceled all winter and spring tournaments, most notably the Division I

men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...

's and

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

's basketball tournaments, affecting colleges and universities statewide.NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships
NCAA, March 12, 2020 On March 16, the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

also canceled the remainder of the winter seasons as well as the spring seasons. On March 12, concerns over the virus caused a month long suspension of Major League Soccer's 2020 season affecting Sporting Kansas City. On the same day the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

also delayed the 2020 season affecting

Sporting Kansas City II Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as Swope ...

. Also on March 12,

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team fr ...

announced a 30-day delay of season affecting the

Salina Liberty The Salina Liberty are a professional indoor football team based in Salina, Kansas. They began play in 2016 as members of the Champions Indoor Football (CIF). The team plays their home games at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center. History Indoor f ...

and

Wichita Force The Wichita Force are a professional indoor football team based in Wichita, Kansas, with home games in Wichita Ice Center. The team was founded in 2014 as an expansion franchise in the Champions Indoor Football league for the 2015 season. The Fo ...

. On March 14, the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

canceled the remainder of the 2019–20 season affecting the

Wichita Thunder The Wichita Thunder are a minor league hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team played in the Central Hockey League from 1992 until 2014, and then in the ECHL since the 2014–15 season. From 1992 until December 2009, the Thunder played in ...

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

was scheduled to race at

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...

on May 30-31, but however NASCAR rescheduled it due scheduling changes during the pandemic to July 23-25 with the

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

gaining a second date, and the

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

also gained a second date, the events were held without fans, however the fall races at the track with the truck series gaining a third date were allowed to have limted fans in the stands.

Statistics

References

External links

Coronavirus information
from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment {{Portal bar, COVID-19, Viruses, Medicine, Kansas, United States

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Disasters in Kansas Health in Kansas