Tuesday Media Briefing on COVID-19

The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System is holding steady today. 36 patients are being treated for the virus, same as yesterday. But 16 of those patients are in the ICU, up from 10 yesterday. Six patients are on ventilators, same as yesterday. The hospital continues to discharge recovered COVID-19 patients every day but admits new ones. Doctors worry the percentage of those patients in the ICU is increasing. Yesterday’s update on COVID-9 and schools generated a huge number of viewer responses and questions about how schools can safely reopen. Joining the panel today to discuss that was Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the KDHE who said, “Schools will not be a safe island in an unsafe community.” Also, David Smith, MD, Youth Sports Medicine Medical Director and KSHHAA Advisory Committee Member shared how summer sports have been a teaching lab in how to do sports safely during a pandemic. Chris Wilson, VP System Integration and Innovation shared specific considerations schools need to make before calling kids back to the classroom. Dr. Norman, as usual, pulled no punches in his assessment of the state’s situation in the pandemic. “We are one of the worst states in the country. Ever since late May when the counties and cities opened up their doors to party like it’s 2019, it’s gone downhill. And it’s getting worse. We know how to fix it. Public health can not fix this, this is what the communities have to fix,” he said. “If you’ve got a community with bars open, people not wearing masks, mass gatherings, rodeos, county fairs, then schools will not be safe.” He noted the percent of positive tests in Kansas has risen above ten percent, a bad sign he says, and added, “People have got to look in their own communities. If you see one person with a mask on, your community is failing.” He went on to say, “There is no safe island for children in an unsafe community. If you fix communities then schools will follow.” He also says “People need to work with their county and public health officials, and they’ve got to quit doing these stupid things. We can fix this by September 10. That’s greater than two incubation periods away, but not if the people in their communities don’t fix their communities.” He also said he’s not sure 30 kids and one teacher crowded into one classroom can be safe and suggested innovative and staggered scheduling, physical distancing and constant hand hygiene is the answer. Dr. Norman explained how he’s been working with the state Department of Education to form guidelines for online education, with the goal of safely resuming in-person education. Dr. Smith says the same principals apply to high school sports. He says many programs have begun pre-season training, and he notes with one exception, there has not been a spread of the virus because of the measures put into place. He says wearing masks on the field is a challenge, but it can be done as schools and athletic trainers develop new ways of thinking about safety. He gave the example of how weight training programs have adjusted to allow athletes to rotate and allowing for equipment cleaning between uses. He also noted in a recent nationwide survey, 68 percent of student athletics have reported feelings of depression during the pandemic as they’ve been kept from their sport. Chris Wilson described the health system’s efforts in advising the University of Kansas on a safe reopening. Those efforts include mass COVID-19 testing using the newly approved saliva testing. He also reminds both schools and businesses to remember the break rooms and lunchrooms when planning safe procedures. He says schools can be safe as long as parents, teachers, administrators and the local health department all work together. Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, says parents need to remember it’s more important than ever their kids get their annual vaccinations as part of their back-to-school physical exams, and especially remember to get a flu shot this fall. He also says heating and cooling systems in older schools needs to be taken into account when planning for a safe return to classes. Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, noted that there’s been no spread of the virus in the hospital, where many COVID-19 patients are being treated, because of the safety measures in place. He says schools are no different. He believes they can reopen effectively and safely as long as they take proper precautions and not open as they have in the past. He says if you can’t have everyone spread out, then you have the same conditions as a bar, where many new cases of the virus have spread. He says while opening schools is one of the hardest questions of our time, following the pillars of infection control is the answer to doing so safely.

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