KDHE Press Conference
March 25, 2020
126 cases - 3 deaths
Testing
have not had enough materials / trying to not be a road block to testing
lot of commercial capacity -- encouraging health providers to use commercial labs
short supply - priorities
want to make sure health care workes / first responders covered
identifying clusters
hospitalized patients with no alternative diagnosis
individuals over 60 who reside in long term care facilities, etc.
Protective equipment hot topic - 25 pages of requests from health agencies
comes in from FEMA - got 2 semis yesterday
per capita - similar to California
KDHE staff working around the clock -- particularly lab and epidemiology
giving them one day off this week (has been working constantly for past 2 weeks)
phone bank updated - 132 staff volunteering to man phone bank
mask reuse - short on masks / working to acquire UV light sterilization devices so they can be re-used - possibly up to 5 times
Ibuprofen -- rumor out of Europe -- argument based on few anecdotal findings of people caring for patients -- on March 23rd - FDA - no reason to suspect ibuprofen causes decrease in lung function
bed planning -- looking at available beds across the state
asking VA and Army Corps of Engineers to see if there are facilities that can be used
Future -- faster tests being developed / going to acquire / looking at DNA extraction when it becomes available / hospitals developing ability to do these tests / satellite locations where samples can be drawn
At some time want to do study of who all in an area has the disease
Take home isolation seriously -- stay home / going out only if needed
Q/A
Are you satisfied with county by county stay at home
yes - there are some issues with rules differing from county to county
Going back to normal by Easter
"I think that's unlikely"
People sick enough to be hospitalized can 'turn sour' very quickly
Staying at home pushes cases into future -- when we hopefully will have anti-viral and/or vaccine in the future
four hospitalized with positives (across state)
larger cluster hospitalized awaiting results
3rd death in state
hospitalized / discharged to home / re-hospitalized and died - had bad case of emphysema
reason for hospitalization -- need for supplemental oxygen
coronavirus -- affects people's hearts / gastro-intestinal disease
world community getting more and more experienced
require to test negative twice before dismissing
elective procedures is what helps hospital stay afloat financially / medicaid expansion would help this situation
task force - what happens when lots of patients --
looking at capacity that we have / what is capacity that we could build or add to / what are likely scenarios / how do we back fill for deficits
issues: staffing and supply chain
have put in for 100 ventilators from FEMA
find self competing with other states / trying to justify requests and then placing orders now
NO additionally positive test from Wyandotte nursing home (where 1st death occurred)
Broadcast live by KSNT and WIBW on Facebook. Both stations will likely have stories posted on their web site later this afternoon
www.wibw.com
www.ksnt.com
