Coronavirus concerns being felt in Stockton
While the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) continues to closely monitor Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its spread and effects, the results of this most recent pandemic are being felt throughout the United States—even in this small town in Kansas.
Schools in Stockton and many in the surrounding area are closed all this week as a safety precaution.
The USD 271schools will also be closed for their regularly scheduled Spring Break, which is March 23 through March 27th. During this time, there will be no school activities.
Governor Laura Kelly recommended, on Sunday, March 15, to close all public schools for the upcoming week to allow administrators and teachers time to develop a strategic plan moving forward.
Stockton USD 271 School Superintendent Bill Lowry has been in daily contact through online meetings with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE), which includes Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson, as well as state officials and other superintendents. They will review the daily information as it is updated, and will give notice to the public as it is received.
The Stockton High School students, especially the senior class, have already had their share of disappointments due to COVID-19. On Thursday evening, the KSHSAA State Basketball Tournament was canceled, and the four-day trip to Branson, Mo., which the seniors were anxiously awaiting, will not be taking place later this week as planned. Instead, it has been postponed for the immediate future, and possibly longer.
The Kansas Kids State Wrestling in Topeka which was scheduled for this past Saturday and Sunday was canceled. The Stockton Kids Wrestling Club was sending two kids to State.
The Kansas State Special Olympics, which includes a team from Rooks County, was canceled due to the ongoing concern of COVID-19.
Even the Stockton Public Library is closed for the week People may still drop off books in the dropbox outside the library. The facility will revisit the situation at the end of this week to make a decision for next week
The Stockton Recreation Commission Fitness Center changed their hours, effective Tuesday afternoon, and have limited the number of members in the facility at one time.
This Tuesday morning, the Nova Theatre announced they will be closed until further notice.
“We appreciate the patronage of our movie-goers, but during this time of uncertainty, the public’s safety is our number one priority;’ said board member, Virgi Laska.
This Tuesday morning, the Stockton City Office sent out a text message informing the public effective March 17, 2020, all city building will be closed the public until further notice due to social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Tuesday morning’s Rooks County Commission meeting was held in the courtroom to keep a 10-foot distance between those in attendance.
Are you one of those who has been buying up toilet paper? Several stores in Rooks County have seen a significant increase in the sale of toilet paper, as well as hand sanitizers and wipes, paper towels, cleaning wipes and sprays, dish soap, trash bags, disinfectant sprays and cleaner, laundry detergent and tissues.
Webster’s Supermarket and Dollar General in Stockton have both noticed a significant change in their sales.
Rusty Hrabe, owner of Webster’s, noted his toilet paper shelf is empty as are other items.
“You can definitely tell people have been stocking up. Before our truck came in today (Tuesday), our toilet paper, milk, flour and sugar were all wiped out;’ said Hrabe.
“We have also sold a lot of cleaning supplies;’ he added.
Hrabe said he has not rationed anything at the store yet, however, the warehouse has put them on a case limit of toilet paper. “We can only purchase our average number of cases per delivery right now;’ stated Hrabe.
Although COVID-19 is sure to affect many businesses negatively, Hrabe stated, “Sales have been strong at the store:’
Annie Smith, a clerk at Dollar General, said on Monday the store is almost completely sold out of toilet paper. “We only have a few cases of the Dollar brand left;’ stated Smith. “We have also sold a lot of Lysol, cleaning supplies, sanitary wipes and products of that sort, and our hand sanitizer was gone before all this got started. We’ve also noticed canned good sales have increased;’ she added.
Smith noted there have been numerous out-oftown people come in and buy toilet paper. “We had a truck driver from out-ofstate stop by and purchase some toilet paper, as did a woman from Hutchinson. Both stated there was no toilet paper to be found where they were from;’ said Smith.
Mr. K’s in Plainville was forced to limit one package of its toilet paper supply last week due to high demand.
“I had three palettes of toilet paper on hand last Tuesday and received two more palettes on Friday. By Sunday morning, we were completely sold out;’ said Kim Rounsley, manager of Mr. K’s Foodtown.
Four palettes of toilet paper were ordered for delivery to the store this Tuesday, but due to the truck drivers running out of hours, his shipment was being delayed until Wednesday.
“With Wednesday’s expected shipment of toilet paper, we will also be replenishing our cooler, as we are out of eggs and milk,” he said.
“Business has been crazy. We’ve had an increase in business of 50% the past week, with Sunday doubling what we had done the previous Sunday:’
During natural disasters or other emergencies, toilet paper always seems to be the first thing to go out of stock The thought of running out of wipes is absolutely horrifying to some.
So what exactly is coronavirus?
Coronavirus is a family of viruses, some of which infect people and animals, named for crown-like spikes on their surfaces.
The viruses can cause the common cold or more severe diseases such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and COVID-19, the latter of which appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. Other cases have been identified around the world including in the United States.
Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.
The general advice is the same nationwide: Call ahead to your doctor or a health care facility if you are concerned you may need to be tested. Based on your symptoms and exposure, they will decide if you need to be evaluated in person and may confer with state authorities about where and how to do the testing. They will give you instructions on how to arrive in a way that limits exposure. Medical facilities and doctors offices ask that everyone call ahead so they can make arrangements to protect others when people come in for testing.
As of this past Tuesday at noon, there have been 15 positive cases in Kansas that have resulted in one death. The greatest number of those cases was in Johnson County with 10; Wyandotte County, 3; Butler County, 1; and Franklin County, 1. Of the 10 cases in Johnson County, three new cases were announced Monday, March 16th.
The first case in the United States was announced January 21, 2020.
According to the Center for Disease Control, these four simple things can help keep yourself and others healthy:
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing; going to the bathroom; and before eating or preparing food.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Stay home when you are sick
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
If EVERYONE can follow these simple steps, we might be able to someday soon get back to a normal small town Kansas lifestyle we so much enjoy in these parts of the USA.
