Sedgwick County hopes to open drive-thru test sites; bans gatherings of 50 or more

Sedgwick County on Monday declared a state of local disaster emergency and banned gatherings of 50 people or more due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The county previously banned gatherings of 250 or more, but lowered the threshold to match more recent guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, officials said.

“The declaration gives County government the flexibility to manage operations in a rapidly changing environment, and will make Federal and State assistance available,” said a written statement.

“This declaration will allow us to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and request additional resources,” said County Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner, also chairman of the county health board.

The limitation will be in force until further notice.

The ban applies to restaurants, bars, theaters and indoor and outdoor events in locations such as stadiums, event centers and meeting halls that would bring together 50 or more people in an enclosed space. For movie theaters the limit applies to the number of people allowed inside a single auditorium.

The ban does not apply to apartment buildings or hotels, unless 50 people are gathered in one room. Also exempt are grocery stores, hospitals, shopping malls and medical offices.

Nor does the ban apply to companies with more than 50 employees in one place. The county is leaving it up to individual employers to decide whether to remain open.

The prohibition on large gatherings was ordered by county Health Officer Garold Minns, a physician who has broad authority to take action in health emergencies without having to gain approval from the County Commission.

The emergency declaration was issued on Meitzner’s authority as chairman of the commission in consultation with vice-chair Lacey Cruse.

The declaration lasts for seven days. It will come before the entire commission on Wednesday, Meitzner said.

“That allows the commission to review it and affirm it or extend it — often those are extended,” Meitzner said.

The declaration allows the county to seek various kinds of federal assistance, financial and otherwise.

County Manager Tom Stolz said one pressing need where the federal government could be of immediate help is providing supplies for testing for COVID-19.

The county hopes to open at least one center where residents could obtain “drive-through” testing for the virus. Samples would be collected using test swabs and sent to the state or private laboratories for analysis, he said.

“The swabs and things have been somewhat limited and that’s been a big problem across the nation, is getting enough out there so we can do more widespread testing,” Minns said. “We’re assured by the federal government that that hopefully will be relieved by hopefully the end of this week, we hope.”

At present, the county can get same-day results through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The two private companies authorized to analyze test samples — Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp — have local offices but Stolz said they have to ship the samples out of state for analysis, so turnaround is three to four days.

This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Sedgwick County hopes to open drive-thru test sites; bans gatherings of 50 or more."