Jarin Berger said he may have overprepared with 600 water bottles in an ice tub outside his home for the roughly 75 people who marched in support of social justice down Main Street in Hutchinson on Saturday. Despite concerns about potential violence from protesters and counter-protests from white supremacists that led to several businesses being boarded up, the event went off without a hitch. All along the route, police stopped to block off traffic at intersections and every couple blocks someone handed out water to chanting protesters. “I just wanted to let them know they were welcome here and we just thought water would be the best way,” Berger said, adding 600 water bottles was too much. “But, I mean it’s got all of our neighbors out. We are all kinda banding together and helping out so. That’s kinda what it’s all about.”
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Sedgwick County’s health officer is raising concerns that the Wichita area may have moved too fast to fully reopen the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. He’s recommending a retreat to an early phase of health precautions to prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Dr. Garold Minns is recommending backing up to Phase 2 of the “Ad Astra Plan,” Gov. Laura Kelly’s now-abandoned effort for a slower, more deliberate reopening after two months of strict stay-at-home orders and mass gathering limits.
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