TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – An increase in reported coronavirus cases has led a Northeast Kansas community to step back from the reopening of its economy and led the commanding general of a nearby U.S. Army post to restrict soldiers’ visits to a popular bar and restaurant district.
The Riley County Health Officer this week issued an order to reimpose a limit of 50 people in public gatherings, bars and restaurants limited to 75% of capacity and ordered that employees be checked for symptoms of coronavirus daily. Those restrictions will remain in effect until July 6.
But an even more dramatic increase in Crawford County, in southeastern Kansas, linked to an outbreak at a bacon processing plant is not causing local officials to revert to the previous restrictions.
Many people in both communities do not wear masks when they go out or venture into stores, local residents said Thursday. At the Pitt bar in Pittsburg, Crawford County, most customers are not concerned about the coronavirus, owner Robert Wilson said.
“My theory about it is that it’s the steroid flu and the only way it will go away is once everyone has had it,” he said.
In Kansas, coronavirus cases increased 20% during the two-week period ending Wednesday, more than 2,100 to nearly 13,000. A jump of 505 cases Monday through Wednesday was the largest in more than six weeks. In late May, Governor Laura Kelly left final decisions on reopening to the state’s 105 counties.
In Crawford County, their cases increased from nine to 220, a jump of 2.344%, due to the SugarCreek bacon plant north of Pittsburg. About 150 people who work at the SugarCreek plant tested positive for the new coronavirus, Crawford County Commissioner Jeremy Johnson said.
However, the outbreak is not putting enough pressure on the local health care system to warrant restrictions, he said.
“I will regularly go to the store and be just one of the few people who wear a mask,” Johnson said.
Meat packing plants have accounted for more than 3,100 of the state’s coronavirus cases, or 24%. Nursing homes have also been hit hard, accounting for 900 cases and 149 of the state’s 261 COVID-19-related deaths, or 57%.
The Kansas City Star reported that more than 60 nursing homes were close to running out of N95 masks and 11 did not have enough as of the first week of June. At least 55 were approaching insufficient supplies of gowns and 47 soon would not have enough surgical masks, according to federal data summarized by the Kansas Department of Health.
Meanwhile, in Riley County, reported cases doubled during the two weeks ending Wednesday, from 70 on June 10 to 156 on Wednesday.
And about 90% belonged to people ages 18-24, and most had spent time in the Aggieville district, near the Kansas State University campus.
“This is a big red flag,” said Manhattan Mayor Usha Reddi. “We probably need to consider a lot more precautions.”
At nearby Fort Riley, Army 1st Infantry Division Commander Major General John Kolasheski has ordered his soldiers to stay out of Aggieville between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Reddi proposed that people wear masks in public a few weeks ago, only to see the idea blocked by community opposition, but she says it should be discussed again.
“I think we’ve relaxed a little bit, we’ve become a little complacent,” said Aaron Estabrook, another Manhattan city commissioner. He said that while wearing a mask when visiting shops and other public places, many people do not.
None of the new Riley County cases have required hospitalizations. While coronavirus can cause serious illness in older adults and people with existing health problems, most infected people experience mild or moderate symptoms that disappear within two to three weeks.
“You’re still a carrier, even if you don’t have symptoms,” said Julie Gibbs, the Riley County health officer. “That is what is scary.”
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