A meeting of the Platte County Health Department’s board of trustees was scheduled to be held Tuesday, May 19 — including public comments from 20 individuals — but that meeting was rescheduled to an online venue today (Wednesday, May 20) over concerns that citizens planned to descend on the meeting and endanger social distancing protocols.
On the agenda were discussions on youth sports — as also covered in the Platte County Commission story in this issue — the Platte County Fair and other pandemic recovery efforts. The board dedicated an hour to public comment, with time limits enforced. To ensure social distancing and keep the Platte County Resource Center below capacity, speakers were asked to wait outside the conference room for their turn to come in, give their remarks, then exit the room. Face coverings were required.
At about 4 p.m. Tuesday, the health department issued a statement saying the meeting was cancelled, and would be rescheduled to an online meeting shortly. That meeting was shortly after rescheduled to the Go To Meeting platform for Wednesday, May 20.
“We have learned through multiple public formats that groups of people have been encouraged to attend the Platte County Health Department Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for tonight,” said board president Dr. Kent Jackson in a statement. “In light of public health orders in place to protect the health and safety of the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot encourage behavior that is susceptible to mass gatherings, which presents a threat to the health of the public and residents of Platte County.
“We appreciate the desire of the public to be in attendance at the open meeting this evening, but we cannot encourage participation in an event where it will be challenging to maintain compliance with the current orders for social distancing.”
The statement said all members of the public already scheduled to speak will have the opportunity to present their comments at the virtual meeting instead.
Online reaction to the announcement was swift and ran the gamut from statements of support of the board of trustees to calls for their ouster.
The Platte County Health Department’s board of trustees is made up of elected officials and governs the actions of the health department. The health department is a governmental entity which operates under state law and follows guidelines set out under Missouri statutes.
Numbers continue to rise; one death reported
As of Tuesday, May 19 the Platte County Health Department has confirmed 110 cases of COVID-19, with 49 of those within the City of Kansas City and 61 in other areas of the county.
One death has been reported, of a resident of Platte County outside the borders of Kansas City. A dozen residents have been hospitalized.
From April 21 through May 17 the health department has conducted 452 tests with results pending on 17 of those.
Outside of Kansas City, the highest concentration of cases is in the Parkville area, with 21 positive cases confirmed. The Riverside area has 18 positive cases; Platte City and the surrounding area 13 cases and nine cases in other rural areas.
MAY 12 MEETING
According to a special meeting of the board of directors held Tuesday, May 12, several of the most recent cases are associated with known clusters, such as Triumph Foods in St. Joseph. Another cluster is associated with an outbreak at Riverside Nursing and Rehab.
As of that meeting, eight residents of the nursing home and four employees had tested positive for COVID-19. The employees are not counted in the county’s case tally because they live in another county.
Board members suggested offering testing to residents and staff at all four county long-term care facilities, with department director Mary Jo Vernon stating the department would reach out to those facilities.
Additionally, the health department may assist with testing of employees of a Platte County business with more than 500 employees. The unnamed food packaging facility has reached out for assistance from state and local authorities to test its workers.
YOUTH SPORTS
Board members spoke at length about how to safely reinstate youth sports programs. The City of Kansas City had not yet announced a plan as of that meeting.
The health department’s tentative plan was to reinstate practices by May 15, but the matter was tabled to the May 19 meeting.
On Monday, May 18 the health department issued an amended order allowing practices to begin, with heavy restrictions.
The full plan is available at plattecountyhealthdept.com, but states rules in contact sports must be modified to prevent physical contact and balls and batons may not be shared. There are also restrictions on numbers of people able to attend practice sessions.