Riley County is retaining an hour of operation limit for restaurants, but removes additional restrictions for child care operators in the local iteration of Kansas’ plan to re-open businesses and public facilities.
Local health officials updated the public on the COVID-19 response online Friday, saying the county remains at 12 active cases despite an additional positive test coming in since Wednesday. An additional recovery report brings the local recovery total to 47 individuals out of a cumulative 60 residents who tested positive. Two people under investigation remains hospitalized, and one local person has died from the disease.
The Riley County Health Department released Local Health Order No. 8 Friday, which revokes Order No. 7. The order clarifies where the county will be more strict than the state in plans to re-open. Health Officer Julie Gibbs says gyms will open and hair and nail salons will be allowed to take customers on appointment bases under phase 1.5, which will last a minimum of 14 days, though bars and sporting venues and practices will not yet get the green light. Some businesses, like salons, will be subject to guidelines and restrictions passed down by regulatory bodies.
Additionally, restaurants in Riley County will no longer be required to limit occupancy to 50 percent, but will still have to stop taking dine-in orders by 10 p.m.
“That is really to help with the definition of restaurants versus a bar,” says Gibbs. “Most restaurants close their kitchens around 9 or 10 p.m., so we decided to go ahead and close the facility at 10 p.m. That doesn’t mean everyone has to leave at 10 p.m., but they will stop serving food and close the doors at that time to kind of distinguish between a restaurant and a bar as bars are not able to open during this next phase.”
Bars would have been permitted to allow up to 50 percent occupancy under the state’s phase 2 plan, which Gov. Kelly postponed until June 1st at the earliest.
Alongside removing occupancy restrictions for restaurants, Order No. 8 also permits day cares to operate under state health guidelines and removes any additional requirements put in place by Riley County. Previously, they mandated child care providers to take temperatures upon arrival and departure and to keep children in stable groups of 10 or fewer.
“We know that with more businesses being able to open, we need to have more openings for our day cares,” says Gibbs. “We are still encouraging child care providers to still take temperatures and still do the screening — which many of them were already doing that before we even put an order in.”
Gibbs says that group fitness classes will likely also remain prohibited, though Gibbs says some could be permitted on a case-by-case basis.
It remains to be seen whether progress to the next phase will be delayed, as Ascension Via Christi President Bob Copple says the situation is still serious in other parts of the state. That said, he says Riley County is looking better than some with decreasing percentages of positive tests and a flattened local curve. Now, Copple says, the job now is to keep an eye on the situation and maintain the positive trajectory.
“For us, it’s more what can we do to make sure we just maintain that,” say Copple. “That’s really the goal. We’ve not had a lot of positives over the last week — that’s a very, very good sign.”
Even so, he and Gibbs say the risk remains largely the same for the public with community spread confirmed. They maintain the importance of avoiding unnecessary travel, good hand hygiene, physical distancing and wearing a mask when that’s not possible. The CDC and KDHE recommend wearing cloth masks when maintaining recommended 6 feet distances are not possible.
“That’s one of the easiest things we can do to reduce some of the spread,” says Copple. “We got to stop and pause and say it’s not about me, […] this is about everybody else.”
Westview Community Church at 615 Gillespie Drive is collecting and distributing cloth masks Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Gibbs says the Riley County Office Building will be opening on Monday, May 18 with restrictions. Read more here.
In light of that, she says county courts will also be taking precautions in phase 1.5. Traffic through the Courthouse will be funneled in one direction to limit exposure, people will be screened at the entrance and jury members will be seated six feet apart.
Copple also says the recovery task force spent time discussing the local approach to phase 1.5 and is exploring easy and clear ways to post notifications at businesses to inform the community of mitigation efforts they are taking.
State information on the pandemic is available at COVID.ks.gov. Local information on the pandemic and re-opening can be found at RileyCountyKS.gov or RegionReimagined.org. Business questions can be directed to the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce at (785) 776-8829 or info@manhattan.org. COVID-19 questions can be directed to RileyCountyCOVID19@gmail.com. Those experiencing symptoms can call the screening line at (785) 323-6400.
Originally posted at https://1350kman.com/riley-county-to-lift-additional-day-care-restrictions-maintain-hours-limits-for-restaurants-in-phase-1-5/
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