At 9 a.m. on Friday, Lee Jarrell of Leawood joined a line of more than 100 cars wrapped around the College Boulevard Activity Center in Olathe. As she waited, Jarrell meditated on the fact that she will finally know — after days of worrying about her cough and the possibility of infecting her family — whether she has coronavirus. Jarrell was among the first randomly selected group of Johnson County residents invited to go to the drive-thru testing site on its opening day. (Read more: KC Star Local News)

After receiving several complaints from residents concerned about further spread of the novel coronavirus, the city of Overland Park announced Tuesday it will postpone its farmers market. The city was planning to open the market for the season on Saturday, even as other Johnson County cities decided to postpone their own markets. Like grocery stores, farmers markets are considered essential operations under the metrowide stay at home order. “Despite the efforts we’ve gone through with the safety and health protocols, we still heard from people who were concerned about the health of the public and vendors,” said city spokesman Sean Reilly. “So [...]

Parked at hospitals and secret locations across the region, dozens of trailers are jam-packed with hundreds of cots, masks, gowns and other medical supplies. Except for routine inspection, the doors to many are never opened and haven’t been widely used since Kansas City-area emergency planners acquired them nearly two decades ago with federal assistance. Only a few have ever rolled out. Once to provide aid after an ice storm in St. Louis, and once to help out New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina nearly 15 years ago. Now, for the first time the hospital trailers — and all the planning and coordination [...]

Sanmi Areola started his new job as Johnson County director of health and environment in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. ... From the moment he walked in the door of the public health department in Olathe on March 18, the coronavirus has been his life. He had a say in crafting the metro’s stay at home order. He asked Johnson County leaders to buy more tests kits for the county’s residents. He filmed a coronavirus YouTube video. He’s trying to take care of his staff’s own health and mental well-being and, oh yeah, the media want to talk to him, [...]

Johnson County law enforcement could issue criminal citations and fines if residents or businesses violate the metrowide stay-at-home order, Assistant County Manager Joe Connor said Friday — although he does not expect that to be a common occurrence. Violations of the order — which went in effect Tuesday — would first come with a warning, he said. But police departments could issue citations, or even take action to close a business, if violations continue and are severe enough. “Nobody is interested in issuing a ticket. We’re not planning on closing any businesses at this time,” Connor said. “But we’re trying to provide [...]

The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the Kansas City area continued to rise Friday as Kansas health officials predicted an April peak for the virus and area governments took unprecedented action to stem the spread of the virus. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Friday afternoon that 34 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed, bringing the state’s total to 203. Missouri health officials reported that 670 cases had been confirmed, up 168 from Thursday. In Kansas City, officials on Friday afternoon said 77 cases have been confirmed in the city, an increase of 19 from the day [...]

Expecting a surge of patients from the new coronavirus pandemic, doctors and nurses across the Kansas City area are being forced to do things they haven’t done before. They are sterilizing disposable face masks and bleaching gowns, items they used to throw away immediately. They’re trying to reuse as many as they can and stretch the critical gear that protects them from the virus as they care for patients. Some hospitals say they have enough personal protective equipment, or PPE, for now. But about half of Missouri’s hospitals report they have shortages and many in Kansas are scrambling to find supplies. (Read more: [...]

Johnson County District Court on Monday will start holding all hearings remotely in a continued effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, according to a news release issued Friday. The Kansas Supreme Court canceled all but emergency hearings last week. The Johnson County order goes one step further moving even emergency hearings to video or phone. Only a judge and administrative assistant will be allowed into the courtrooms, the release said. “The number of positive cases is escalating at a rapid pace here in our county and throughout the metropolitan area. We cannot jeopardize ourselves or the citizens who would otherwise [...]

A third person in Wyandotte County has died from the new coronavirus, health officials reported Friday. Details about the patient and when they died were not immediately available. It is the fourth COVID-19 related death in the state of Kansas. In Wyandotte County, 37 people have been infected with the rapidly spreading virus. (Read more: KC Star Local News)

Most of the parking lots surrounding the intersection of I-70 and I-470 in Independence sat vacant Thursday as tens of thousands of metro residents stayed home. But dozens of cars still occupied part of the expansive Bass Pro Shops lot there. That store, which sells everything from boats to fishing gear to athletic clothing, stayed open, despite stay-at-home orders issued across the Kansas City metro to help slow the spread of the worsening coronavirus pandemic. Two Bass Pro Shops — the one in Independence and another in Olathe — stayed open through Thursday, along with the Cabela’s at Village West in [...]