PRESS RELEASE - From Dickinson County Administration

PRESS RELEASE Covid is a hoax! It will all be over after the election! So, if I get it, I get it, no big deal! It does not affect me! I am not wearing a mask, they don’t work and you cannot make me! Have you heard anyone say any of these statements the past nine months? I bet you have. Whether you believe this whole pandemic thing is real or not, it may have just become REAL to us all. Here are some facts that you need to know from right here in Dickinson County! Regardless of what you see and hear about the east and west coasts and the issues they are having, here is what we know about Dickinson County as of today! ✓ Over the past few months we have monitored the weekly percentage of people that are being tested at Memorial Hospital and how many of those tests are positive for Covid. We have seen that percentage on average being 3% to 5% until recently, the average for the past 28-day cycle as of November 12th, was 26.5%. The average of the past 7 days is 29% and the numbers are rising. ✓ Of the four school districts in Dickinson County as of November 12, we have 578 kids and staff who are either quarantined due to exposure or have tested positive and are isolated at home from Covid-19.

✓ As of this morning Memorial Hospital reports that of the 12 patients that currently occupy their facility, 8 of those are Covid patients. This is the highest number of Covid patients that have been in the local hospital since this began.

✓ All of the hospitals and trauma centers around Kansas, to include Salina Regional, Geary Community, Via Christi in Manhattan, Stormont Vail, and all KC Metro and Wichita hospitals are full, and no ICU beds are available across the state. ✓ As of the morning of November 13th, the current number of confirmed cases in Dickinson County since this began is 548, with a daily increase over the past week averaging 14 cases per day.

✓ Local hospital staff are overwhelmed, understaffed, and many of them are now quarantined or isolated at home due to Covid leaving nobody to fill their work requirements at the hospital.

✓ Believe it or not, the simplest things like wearing a mask, social distancing, and washing your hands really are proven methods to help reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

So why does this matter to you? Up to this point, the pandemic really only affected those people who were exposed and quarantined, or contracted the Covid-19 virus and came down ill. Now, with our hospital beds filled and no room for more patients, this means that the victim of a car accident, a heart attack, a stroke victim, or anyone else who has a lifethreatening ailment or event does not have access to the resources they need to get hospital care! The resources simply are not there, unless you look to Oklahoma City or Omaha, and they are filling up rapidly as well. So, for anyone who does not think this pandemic affects them, think again! God help us all if we need medical care because things JUST GOT REAL! Do your part and don’t be selfish! Wear a mask, protect yourself and protect your friends. It’s the simplest thing we can do to help protect us all!