From the City of Great Bend...

As we begin the reopening process and businesses start to serve customers, The Great Bend Public Works Utilities Division would like to urge business owners to take precautions to keep water quality standards. Buildings that have been closed for more than a week need to have the service lines and internal plumbing completely flushed, even if there has been low occupancy.

Water that is not being used on a regular basis can have a quality change if the water has been stagnant, especially after an extended amount of time. Flushing the cold and hot lines decrease the risk of bacterial growth and brings clean and freshly disinfected water into the water lines of your building.

For further information visit the EPA’s website “Information on Maintaining or Restoring Water Quality in Buildings with Low or No Use”

The City of Great Bend tests the quality of our water regularly throughout our service area. All testing that is done ensures that we meet the State and Federal guidelines. The City of Great Bend recommends flushing your building’s system to receive fresh water into your building and avoiding the use of stagnate water.

If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact the Utilities Division at (620)793-4170.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1578412004290.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>From the City of Great Bend...As we begin the reopening process and businesses start to serve customers, The Great Bend Public Works Utilities Division would like to urge business owners to take precautions to keep water quality standards. Buildings that have been closed for more than a week need to have the service lines and internal plumbing completely flushed, even if there has been low occupancy.Water that is not being used on a regular basis can have a quality change if the water has been stagnant, especially after an extended amount of time. Flushing the cold and hot lines decrease the risk of bacterial growth and brings clean and freshly disinfected water into the water lines of your building.We ask you to:<ol>
 <li>Before reopening, run every faucet and tap in the business. Cold water first, then Hot.</li><li>Flush and maintain other water using appliance or system with a water connection, for example ice machines, filters for refrigerators, and drinking fountains.</li><li>Flush your toilets</li>
 </ol>For further information visit the EPA’s website “Information on Maintaining or Restoring Water Quality in Buildings with Low or No Use”The City of Great Bend tests the quality of our water regularly throughout our service area. All testing that is done ensures that we meet the State and Federal guidelines. The City of Great Bend recommends flushing your building’s system to receive fresh water into your building and avoiding the use of stagnate water.If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact the Utilities Division at (620)793-4170.

Great Bend urges businesses to flush waterlines before reopening 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned bluntly Tuesday of “really serious” consequences of suffering, death and deeper economic damage if state and local officials lift stay-at-home orders too quickly, even as President Donald Trump pushes them to act to right a free-falling economy.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;a replay&nbsp;the Senate hearing.

Fauci’s testimony before a Senate committee that included Kansas Senator Pat Roberts came as more than two dozen states have begun to lift their lockdowns as a first step toward economic recovery.

Underscoring the seriousness of the pandemic that has reached Congress and the White House, Fauci and other experts testified by video from their homes. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chaired the hearing by video from the study in his cabin in Tennessee, though several members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee did attend at the Capitol.

Fauci and other health officials stressed that pandemic danger persists, even as testing increases and work toward a vaccine and treatments continues.

More COVID-19 infections are inevitable as people again start gathering, but how prepared communities are to stamp out those sparks will determine how bad the rebound is, Fauci told the senators.

“There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation you will see some cases appear,” Fauci said.

And if there is a rush to reopen without following guidelines, “my concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,” he said. “The consequences could be really serious.”

In fact, he said opening too soon “could turn the clock back,” and that not only would cause “some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to try to get economic recovery.”

Fauci was among the health experts testifying Tuesday to the Senate panel, as Trump has been praising states that are reopening after the prolonged lockdown aimed at controlling the virus’s spread.

Committee chairman Alexander said as the hearing opened that “what our country has done so far in testing is impressive, but not nearly enough.”

Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people and killed over 287,000 — more than 80,000 in U.S. alone. Asked if the U.S. mortality count was correct, Fauci said, “the number is likely higher. I don’t know exactly what percent higher but almost certainly it’s higher.”

Fauci, a member of the coronavirus task force charged with shaping the response to COVID-19, testified via video conference after self-quarantining as a White House staffer tested positive for the virus.

With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump has been anxious to reopen states for business.

<a href="https://apnews.com/4aca168a247602a2573ba94347045b30">A recent Associated Press review determined that 17 states did not meet a key White House benchmark&nbsp;</a>for loosening restrictions — a 14-day downward trajectory in new cases or positive test rates. Yet many of those have begun to reopen or are about to do so, including Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.

Of the 33 states that have had a 14-day downward trajectory of either cases or positive test rates, 25 are partially opened or moving to reopen within days, the AP analysis found. Other states that have not seen a 14-day decline, remain closed despite meeting some benchmarks.

Besides Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, the other experts include FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — both in self-quarantine—and Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus “testing czar” at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The event Tuesday got underway in the committee’s storied hearing room, but that’s about all that remained of the pre-pandemic way of conducting oversight. The senators running the event, Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, were heads on video screens, with an array of personal items in the background as they isolated back home.

A few senators, such as Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski and Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy, personally attended the session in the hearing room. They wore masks, as did an array of aides buzzing behind them.

The health committee hearing offers a very different setting from the White House coronavirus task force briefings the administration witnesses have all participated in. Most significantly, Trump did not control the agenda.

Eyeing the November elections, the president has been urging on protesters who oppose their state governors’ stay-at-home orders, while expressing his own confidence that the coronavrius will fade away as summer advances and Americans return to work and other pursuits.

The U.S. has seen at least 1.3 million infections and nearly 81,000 confirmed deaths from the virus, the highest toll in the world by far, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Separately, one expert from the World Health Organization has already warned that some countries are “driving blind” into reopening their economies without having strong systems to track new outbreaks. And three countries that do have robust tracing systems — South Korea, Germany and China — have already seen new outbreaks after lockdown rules were relaxed.

U.S. contact tracing remains a patchwork of approaches and readiness levels. States are hiring contact tracers but experts say tens of thousands will be needed across the country.

WHO’s emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said Germany and South Korea have good contact tracing that hopefully can detect and stop virus clusters before they get out of control. But he said other nations — which he did not name — have not effectively employed investigators to contact people who test positive, track down their contacts and get them into quarantine before they can spread the virus.

“Shutting your eyes and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly an equation as I’ve seen,” Ryan said. “Certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months.”

Apple, Google, some U.S. states and European countries are developing contact-tracing apps that show whether someone has crossed paths with an infected person. But experts say the technology only supplements and does not replace labor-intensive human work.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that if the country reopens too soon, "the consequences could be really serious.”

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;the Senate hearing that began at 9a.m. CDT and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.

Fauci is among the experts testifying to a Senate panel as its hearing opened on Tuesday. His testimony comes as President Donald Trump is pressuring states to reopen after the prolonged lock-down aimed at controlling the virus’ spread. 

With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump wants to restart the economy.  Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people and killed over 286,000. Some countries that have relaxed lock-down rules have seen new outbreaks.

WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci says the government is working on several potential vaccines for COVID-19.

“We have many candidates and hope to have many winners,” he told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee. “In other words, it is many shots on goal.”

Despite the rapid pace of work on vaccines, Fauci was offering no guarantees. He says, “The big unknown is efficacy.”

Fauci heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and is the government’s leading expert on the pandemic. He says he hopes to have a vaccine in advanced trials by late fall or early winter.

WASHINGTON — The government’s leading infectious disease expert says he intends to warn the nation Tuesday that “needless suffering and death” will result from a rushed reopening of the economy.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a> the Senate hearing that begins 9a.m. CDT and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee at a hearing assessing reopening plans.

In an email to the New York Times, Fauci said his major message will concern the danger of trying to open the country.

“If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to ‘Open America Again,’ then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country,” Fauci wrote. “This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.”

This puts Fauci at odds with President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged governors to lift business closings and stay-at-home orders.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589293349894.png" alt="First ever U.S. Senate hearing with witnesses and chairman appearing via video conference. Those in attendance practice social distancing on Tuesday moring. The public is not in attendance at the hearing-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>First ever U.S. Senate hearing with witnesses and chairman appearing via video conference. Those in attendance practice social distancing on Tuesday moring. The public is not in attendance at the hearing-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned bluntly Tuesday of “really serious” consequences of suffering, death and deeper economic damage if state and local officials lift stay-at-home orders too quickly, even as President Donald Trump pushes them to act to right a free-falling economy.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;a replay&nbsp;the Senate hearing.Fauci’s testimony before a Senate committee that included Kansas Senator Pat Roberts came as more than two dozen states have begun to lift their lockdowns as a first step toward economic recovery.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589299908069.png" alt="Kansas Senator Pat Roberts wore gloves and&nbsp; participated in Tuesday's first ever Senate hearing via video conference. Roberts referred to the dramatic number of virus patients identified in his hometown of Dodge City. -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Senator Pat Roberts wore gloves and&nbsp; participated in Tuesday's first ever Senate hearing via video conference. Roberts referred to the dramatic number of virus patients identified in his hometown of Dodge City. -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Underscoring the seriousness of the pandemic that has reached Congress and the White House, Fauci and other experts testified by video from their homes. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chaired the hearing by video from the study in his cabin in Tennessee, though several members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee did attend at the Capitol.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589296928199.png" alt="Dr. Anthony Fauci during Tuesday's video conference before the U.S. Senate committee" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Anthony Fauci during Tuesday's video conference before the U.S. Senate committee</figcaption>
 </figure>Fauci and other health officials stressed that pandemic danger persists, even as testing increases and work toward a vaccine and treatments continues.More COVID-19 infections are inevitable as people again start gathering, but how prepared communities are to stamp out those sparks will determine how bad the rebound is, Fauci told the senators.“There is no doubt, even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation you will see some cases appear,” Fauci said.And if there is a rush to reopen without following guidelines, “my concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,” he said. “The consequences could be really serious.”In fact, he said opening too soon “could turn the clock back,” and that not only would cause “some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to try to get economic recovery.”Fauci was among the health experts testifying Tuesday to the Senate panel, as Trump has been praising states that are reopening after the prolonged lockdown aimed at controlling the virus’s spread.Committee chairman Alexander said as the hearing opened that “what our country has done so far in testing is impressive, but not nearly enough.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589293586428.png" alt="Missouri Senator Roy Blunt watched the opening of the hearing Tuesday morning-image CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Missouri Senator Roy Blunt watched the opening of the hearing Tuesday morning-image CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people and killed over 287,000 — more than 80,000 in U.S. alone. Asked if the U.S. mortality count was correct, Fauci said, “the number is likely higher. I don’t know exactly what percent higher but almost certainly it’s higher.”Fauci, a member of the coronavirus task force charged with shaping the response to COVID-19, testified via video conference after self-quarantining as a White House staffer tested positive for the virus.With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump has been anxious to reopen states for business.<a href="https://apnews.com/4aca168a247602a2573ba94347045b30">A recent Associated Press review determined that 17 states did not meet a key White House benchmark&nbsp;</a>for loosening restrictions — a 14-day downward trajectory in new cases or positive test rates. Yet many of those have begun to reopen or are about to do so, including Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.Of the 33 states that have had a 14-day downward trajectory of either cases or positive test rates, 25 are partially opened or moving to reopen within days, the AP analysis found. Other states that have not seen a 14-day decline, remain closed despite meeting some benchmarks.Besides Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, the other experts include FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — both in self-quarantine—and Adm. Brett Giroir, the coronavirus “testing czar” at the Department of Health and Human Services.The event Tuesday got underway in the committee’s storied hearing room, but that’s about all that remained of the pre-pandemic way of conducting oversight. The senators running the event, Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, were heads on video screens, with an array of personal items in the background as they isolated back home.A few senators, such as Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski and Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy, personally attended the session in the hearing room. They wore masks, as did an array of aides buzzing behind them.The health committee hearing offers a very different setting from the White House coronavirus task force briefings the administration witnesses have all participated in. Most significantly, Trump did not control the agenda.Eyeing the November elections, the president has been urging on protesters who oppose their state governors’ stay-at-home orders, while expressing his own confidence that the coronavrius will fade away as summer advances and Americans return to work and other pursuits.The U.S. has seen at least 1.3 million infections and nearly 81,000 confirmed deaths from the virus, the highest toll in the world by far, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.Separately, one expert from the World Health Organization has already warned that some countries are “driving blind” into reopening their economies without having strong systems to track new outbreaks. And three countries that do have robust tracing systems — South Korea, Germany and China — have already seen new outbreaks after lockdown rules were relaxed.U.S. contact tracing remains a patchwork of approaches and readiness levels. States are hiring contact tracers but experts say tens of thousands will be needed across the country.WHO’s emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, said Germany and South Korea have good contact tracing that hopefully can detect and stop virus clusters before they get out of control. But he said other nations — which he did not name — have not effectively employed investigators to contact people who test positive, track down their contacts and get them into quarantine before they can spread the virus.“Shutting your eyes and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly an equation as I’ve seen,” Ryan said. “Certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months.”Apple, Google, some U.S. states and European countries are developing contact-tracing apps that show whether someone has crossed paths with an infected person. But experts say the technology only supplements and does not replace labor-intensive human work.-----------WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, is warning Congress that if the country reopens too soon, "the consequences could be really serious.”<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;the Senate hearing that began at 9a.m. CDT and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.Fauci is among the experts testifying to a Senate panel as its hearing opened on Tuesday. His testimony comes as President Donald Trump is pressuring states to reopen after the prolonged lock-down aimed at controlling the virus’ spread. With the U.S. economy in free-fall and more than 30 million people unemployed, Trump wants to restart the economy. Worldwide, the virus has infected nearly 4.2 million people and killed over 286,000. Some countries that have relaxed lock-down rules have seen new outbreaks.-----------WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci says the government is working on several potential vaccines for COVID-19.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a>&nbsp;the Senate hearing that began at 9a.m. CDT and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589292074301.png" alt="Members of the U.S. Senate gather ahead of Tuesday's hearing -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Members of the U.S. Senate gather ahead of Tuesday's hearing -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>“We have many candidates and hope to have many winners,” he told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee. “In other words, it is many shots on goal.”Despite the rapid pace of work on vaccines, Fauci was offering no guarantees. He says, “The big unknown is efficacy.”Fauci heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and is the government’s leading expert on the pandemic. He says he hopes to have a vaccine in advanced trials by late fall or early winter.___WASHINGTON — The government’s leading infectious disease expert says he intends to warn the nation Tuesday that “needless suffering and death” will result from a rushed reopening of the economy.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?471837-1/white-house-coronavirus-task-force-members-testify-coronavirus-response-reopening-phases">Click here to watch</a> the Senate hearing that begins 9a.m. CDT and is expected to last approximately 3 hours.Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee at a hearing assessing reopening plans.In an email to the New York Times, Fauci said his major message will concern the danger of trying to open the country.“If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to ‘Open America Again,’ then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country,” Fauci wrote. “This will not only result in needless suffering and death, but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal.”This puts Fauci at odds with President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged governors to lift business closings and stay-at-home orders.___

🎥 Kansas Senator hears grim news from Coronavirus Task Force

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State and local orders still in place for checking the spread of the novel coronavirus in Kansas are facing legal challenges from the state’s attorney general and business owners.

Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Monday that he is reviewing whether it’s constitutional for people who violate Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s orders restricting business activities to face criminal charges. His office said the GOP district attorney in Reno County in south-central Kansas asked him for a legal opinion.

Schmidt’s announcement came a day after two business owners in Linn County in eastern Kansas filed&nbsp;<a href="https://apdocs.inside.ap.org/documents/150932-linn-county-lawsuit-05-11-20.html" target="_blank">a federal lawsuit</a>&nbsp;against the county, its county commission and its health director. They are challenging&nbsp;<a href="https://apdocs.inside.ap.org/documents/150933-linn-county-order-05-01-20.html" target="_blank">a May 1 order</a>&nbsp;from the health director requiring businesses to compile information on who visits their premises so the local health department can use it to trace the contacts of infected people.

(Advance to player to the 24:00 minute mark)

“It’s just as important now, perhaps more so, to follow the rule of law and respect our constitutional rights,” said Sam MacRoberts, litigation director for the Kansas Justice Institute, which is representing the Linn County business owners. “The government does not get a free pass, even during a pandemic.”

Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/9892bd95f6f6179dc01c4769adbab428">lifted a statewide stay-at-home order</a>&nbsp;May 4 but plans to keep some restrictions in place at least until June 15, and she is allowing local officials to impose tougher rules. She’s faced criticism from the Republican-controlled Legislature for not reopening the economy quickly enough, and some GOP lawmaker want to curb the governor’s power in emergencies.

“It’s partly pent-up frustration,” Kelly said during a Statehouse news conference Monday. “Everybody is getting some coronavirus fatigue here.”

The state health department reported that confirmed and probable coronavirus cases increased Monday to 7,116, up 9.5% or 615 since Friday. The department reported an additional six COVID-19-related deaths, up 4% since Friday, for a total of 158 since early March.

The number of coronavirus cases it thought to be higher because of limited testing, particularly early in the state’s outbreak, and because people can be infected without feeling ill. Also, Johns Hopkins University on Monday reported 175 deaths for the state.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

Kelly has left it to local law enforcement officials to determine whether people violating her executive orders face fines, citations or arrest.

Schmidt said Monday that the Legislature determines what constitutes a crime, not the governor, and the Kansas Supreme Court has never ruled on whether that power can be delegated to the governor in an emergency.

Kelly responded: “Executive orders without teeth are useless, so I think there has to be some mechanism for enforcement.”

The federal lawsuit against Linn County alleges that its order, issued May 1, violates the business owners’ right to be protected from unreasonable searches of their property, guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit alleges that the directive to businesses, including doctor’s and lawyer’s offices, to compile information about customers and turn it over to the health department represents a warrant-less search of their records, without giving them a way to appeal the department’s actions.

Filing the lawsuit were Jackie Taylor, owner and publisher of the Linn County News in Pleasanton, and Linda Jo Hisel, owner of Nana Jo’s restaurant in La Cygne. The Kansas Justice Institute, which represents them, is an arm of the Kansas Policy Institute, a small-government, free-market think tank.

The county has about 9,800 residents and has had six coronavirus cases, or 0.62 cases per 1,000 residents compared to the state’s 2.44 cases per 1,000 residents.

“The people coming to my restaurant are practically family, and I shouldn’t be expected to keep tabs on them for the government,” Hisel said.

The Linn County Commission’s chairman and its health director did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment.

Dr. Lee Norman, the state health department’s director, said collecting such information would be “terrifically helpful” in contact tracing but raises privacy concerns. Kelly said it would not be “my first choice” as a coronavirus response.

“I think that’s going a little bit too far,” she said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589280011411.png" alt="During her Monday new conference, Governor Laura Kelly said, “Everybody is getting some coronavirus fatigue here."&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>During her Monday new conference, Governor Laura Kelly said, “Everybody is getting some coronavirus fatigue here."&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State and local orders still in place for checking the spread of the novel coronavirus in Kansas are facing legal challenges from the state’s attorney general and business owners.Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt said Monday that he is reviewing whether it’s constitutional for people who violate Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s orders restricting business activities to face criminal charges. His office said the GOP district attorney in Reno County in south-central Kansas asked him for a legal opinion.Schmidt’s announcement came a day after two business owners in Linn County in eastern Kansas filed&nbsp;<a href="https://apdocs.inside.ap.org/documents/150932-linn-county-lawsuit-05-11-20.html" target="_blank">a federal lawsuit</a>&nbsp;against the county, its county commission and its health director. They are challenging&nbsp;<a href="https://apdocs.inside.ap.org/documents/150933-linn-county-order-05-01-20.html" target="_blank">a May 1 order</a>&nbsp;from the health director requiring businesses to compile information on who visits their premises so the local health department can use it to trace the contacts of infected people.(Advance to player to the 24:00 minute mark)<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FGovLauraKelly%2Fvideos%2F904749063357797%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>“It’s just as important now, perhaps more so, to follow the rule of law and respect our constitutional rights,” said Sam MacRoberts, litigation director for the Kansas Justice Institute, which is representing the Linn County business owners. “The government does not get a free pass, even during a pandemic.”Kelly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/9892bd95f6f6179dc01c4769adbab428">lifted a statewide stay-at-home order</a>&nbsp;May 4 but plans to keep some restrictions in place at least until June 15, and she is allowing local officials to impose tougher rules. She’s faced criticism from the Republican-controlled Legislature for not reopening the economy quickly enough, and some GOP lawmaker want to curb the governor’s power in emergencies.“It’s partly pent-up frustration,” Kelly said during a Statehouse news conference Monday. “Everybody is getting some coronavirus fatigue here.”The state health department reported that confirmed and probable coronavirus cases increased Monday to 7,116, up 9.5% or 615 since Friday. The department reported an additional six COVID-19-related deaths, up 4% since Friday, for a total of 158 since early March.The number of coronavirus cases it thought to be higher because of limited testing, particularly early in the state’s outbreak, and because people can be infected without feeling ill. Also, Johns Hopkins University on Monday reported 175 deaths for the state.For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.Kelly has left it to local law enforcement officials to determine whether people violating her executive orders face fines, citations or arrest.Schmidt said Monday that the Legislature determines what constitutes a crime, not the governor, and the Kansas Supreme Court has never ruled on whether that power can be delegated to the governor in an emergency.Kelly responded: “Executive orders without teeth are useless, so I think there has to be some mechanism for enforcement.”The federal lawsuit against Linn County alleges that its order, issued May 1, violates the business owners’ right to be protected from unreasonable searches of their property, guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.The lawsuit alleges that the directive to businesses, including doctor’s and lawyer’s offices, to compile information about customers and turn it over to the health department represents a warrant-less search of their records, without giving them a way to appeal the department’s actions.Filing the lawsuit were Jackie Taylor, owner and publisher of the Linn County News in Pleasanton, and Linda Jo Hisel, owner of Nana Jo’s restaurant in La Cygne. The Kansas Justice Institute, which represents them, is an arm of the Kansas Policy Institute, a small-government, free-market think tank.The county has about 9,800 residents and has had six coronavirus cases, or 0.62 cases per 1,000 residents compared to the state’s 2.44 cases per 1,000 residents.“The people coming to my restaurant are practically family, and I shouldn’t be expected to keep tabs on them for the government,” Hisel said.The Linn County Commission’s chairman and its health director did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment.Dr. Lee Norman, the state health department’s director, said collecting such information would be “terrifically helpful” in contact tracing but raises privacy concerns. Kelly said it would not be “my first choice” as a coronavirus response.“I think that’s going a little bit too far,” she said.

🎥 Governor responds to challenges of coronavirus orders 

WASHINGTON (AP) — With deaths mounting at the nation’s nursing homes, the White House strongly recommended to governors Monday that all residents and staff at such facilities be tested for the coronavirus in the next two weeks.

Why the government is not ordering testing at the nation’s more than 15,000 nursing homes was unclear. Nor was it clear why it is being recommended now, more than two months after the nation’s first major outbreak at a nursing home outside of Seattle that eventually killed 45 people.

Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, told governors on a video conference call that it’s the federal government’s strong recommendation that such testing be done.

“We really believe that all 1 million nursing home residents need to be tested within next two weeks as well as the staff,” added Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force coordinator, according to a recording of the call obtained by The Associated Press.

President Trump has repeatedly said there have been plenty of testing kits and has shifted blame to governors for reacting too slowly on testing, a charge he repeated in a Rose Garden news conference later Monday.

“Frankly, some of the governors were very lax with respect to nursing homes. It was obvious right from the beginning,” Trump said, referring to the Washington state outbreak.

Asked why testing was recommended, not ordered, Trump said: “I would certainly consider that. I will mandate it if you’d like.”

More than 27,000 residents and staff have died from outbreaks of the virus at the nation’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities, according to an AP tally based on state health departments and media reports. That is about a third of all 80,000 deaths in the U.S. that have been attributed to the virus.

Nursing home operators have said the lack of testing kits has left them nearly powerless to stop the virus from entering their facilities because they haven’t been able to identity silent spreaders not showing symptoms.

The American Health Care Association, the main nursing home trade group, welcomed the new testing recommendation but said the federal government needed to do more to make that possible, including allocating billions of additional dollars to the effort.

Charlene Harrington, a professor emeritus of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, said nursing homes should have been prioritized from the start given their vulnerable populations and questioned why the testing recommendation is only happening now.

“We’re two months into it,” she said. “If they had done that to begin with, we would’ve picked up cases early and we wouldn’t have so many deaths.”

Representatives for the federal Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services did not immediately respond when asked why the agency wasn’t making testing a requirement. In mid-March, it asked homes to cease group gatherings and visitations, and to screen staff with such measures as temperature checks.

A senior administration official said taking a tougher stand is still an option.

“If the states aren’t able to come back with plans quickly to do it, then there’s a good chance we will order them to do that, but we believe that right now there are plenty of tests out there,” the official said on condition of anonymity because he lacked authorization to speak to the media.

West Virginia and Texas have already mandated testing for all nursing home residents and staff. And just Sunday, New York, the nation’s leader in nursing home deaths, began requiring all staff to be tested twice a week.

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said his state was ramping up testing but cast doubt on the feasibility of doing that for everyone in every home.

“I don’t know that that’s going to get done,” said DeWine, whose state has reported nearly 500 deaths in long-term care facilities in three weeks. He added, “There’s frankly a lot of people in the medical field who would argue that the testing of everybody in that nursing home might not be the best protocol.”

Pence led the White House’s weekly call with governors from an isolated room after his press secretary tested positive Friday. Three of the country’s top health care officials, including infection disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, are quarantining themselves on fears they have been exposed to the virus, too.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589232183933.png" alt="President Trump during a media briefing Monday -White House photo" />
 <figcaption>President Trump during a media briefing Monday -White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — With deaths mounting at the nation’s nursing homes, the White House strongly recommended to governors Monday that all residents and staff at such facilities be tested for the coronavirus in the next two weeks.Why the government is not ordering testing at the nation’s more than 15,000 nursing homes was unclear. Nor was it clear why it is being recommended now, more than two months after the nation’s first major outbreak at a nursing home outside of Seattle that eventually killed 45 people.Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, told governors on a video conference call that it’s the federal government’s strong recommendation that such testing be done.“We really believe that all 1 million nursing home residents need to be tested within next two weeks as well as the staff,” added Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force coordinator, according to a recording of the call obtained by The Associated Press.President Trump has repeatedly said there have been plenty of testing kits and has shifted blame to governors for reacting too slowly on testing, a charge he repeated in a Rose Garden news conference later Monday.“Frankly, some of the governors were very lax with respect to nursing homes. It was obvious right from the beginning,” Trump said, referring to the Washington state outbreak.Asked why testing was recommended, not ordered, Trump said: “I would certainly consider that. I will mandate it if you’d like.”More than 27,000 residents and staff have died from outbreaks of the virus at the nation’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities, according to an AP tally based on state health departments and media reports. That is about a third of all 80,000 deaths in the U.S. that have been attributed to the virus.Nursing home operators have said the lack of testing kits has left them nearly powerless to stop the virus from entering their facilities because they haven’t been able to identity silent spreaders not showing symptoms.The American Health Care Association, the main nursing home trade group, welcomed the new testing recommendation but said the federal government needed to do more to make that possible, including allocating billions of additional dollars to the effort.Charlene Harrington, a professor emeritus of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, said nursing homes should have been prioritized from the start given their vulnerable populations and questioned why the testing recommendation is only happening now.“We’re two months into it,” she said. “If they had done that to begin with, we would’ve picked up cases early and we wouldn’t have so many deaths.”Representatives for the federal Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services did not immediately respond when asked why the agency wasn’t making testing a requirement. In mid-March, it asked homes to cease group gatherings and visitations, and to screen staff with such measures as temperature checks.A senior administration official said taking a tougher stand is still an option.“If the states aren’t able to come back with plans quickly to do it, then there’s a good chance we will order them to do that, but we believe that right now there are plenty of tests out there,” the official said on condition of anonymity because he lacked authorization to speak to the media.West Virginia and Texas have already mandated testing for all nursing home residents and staff. And just Sunday, New York, the nation’s leader in nursing home deaths, began requiring all staff to be tested twice a week.Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said his state was ramping up testing but cast doubt on the feasibility of doing that for everyone in every home.“I don’t know that that’s going to get done,” said DeWine, whose state has reported nearly 500 deaths in long-term care facilities in three weeks. He added, “There’s frankly a lot of people in the medical field who would argue that the testing of everybody in that nursing home might not be the best protocol.”Pence led the White House’s weekly call with governors from an isolated room after his press secretary tested positive Friday. Three of the country’s top health care officials, including infection disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, are quarantining themselves on fears they have been exposed to the virus, too.___

White House recommends virus tests for all nursing home residents

On this episode of Forward Ever; Leading in Challenging Times, Gary Shorman&nbsp;speaks with Hays Med president and CEO Edward Herrmann.

<div><iframe title="Forward Ever: Edward Herrmann, president and CEO of&nbsp;Hays&nbsp;Med" height="400" width="400" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/i2ty9-dc1813?from=yiiadmin&download=1&version=1&vjs=1&skin=3&auto=1&share=1&fonts=Helvetica&download=1&rtl=0&pbad=1"></iframe></div>On this episode of Forward Ever; Leading in Challenging Times, Gary Shorman&nbsp;speaks with Hays Med president and CEO Edward Herrmann.

🎤Forward Ever: Hays Med president and CEO Edward Herrmann

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589206547704.jpeg" alt="covid update.jpg" />
 <figcaption>covid update.jpg</figcaption>
 </figure>

COVID-19 update for Barton County: 22 cases

By LYNN HORSLEY <a href="https://www.kcur.org/community/2020-05-11/here-is-what-people-can-and-cant-do-as-johnson-and-wyandotte-counties-begin-to-gradually-reopen">Kansas News Service</a>

Johnson and Wyandotte Counties begin to gradually reopen their 
economies on Monday, May 11, following weeks of stringent stay-home 
orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They follow Kansas City, Missouri, which began allowing some non-essential businesses to reopen Wednesday, May 6.

<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-05-06/heres-what-people-can-do-and-not-do-in-kansas-city-missouri-as-stay-at-home-order-partially-lifts" target="_blank">Read KCUR’s “Here’s What People Can Do – And Not Do – In Kansas City, Missouri, As Stay-At-Home Order Partially Lifts”</a>

Health
 officers in Johnson and Wyandotte counties said they thought a May 11 
start date was safer for their communities. They still are strongly 
urging people who are out and about to wear cloth masks in public 
settings.

Johnson County is mostly following Kansas Gov. Laura 
Kelly’s phased approach in reopening statewide, while Wyandotte County 
is taking a more restrictive approach.

In
 Johnson County, here are some of the places that residents and 
customers can start to visit that they couldn’t before. You can read the
 county’s reopening plan <a href="https://jocogov.org/sites/default/files/documents/CMO/Phased%20opening%20in%20Johnson%20County%202.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.

However, here are the things you still can’t do:

Those types of businesses can’t open at least until May 18 under <a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Reopen-Kansas-Framework.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas’ reopening plan.</a> That second phase depends on virus data trends improving.

Johnson County Library is also developing a phased reopening plan and more information will be <a href="https://www.jocolibrary.org/" target="_blank">at the Library’s website.</a>

Wyandotte County has a more gradual plan for reopening. The details can be read <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/RestartWYCOGuidanceDocument043020.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.

In the first phase, most people are still urged to stay at home as much as possible. Here are some important details:

As in Johnson County, many 
businesses and functions will remain closed in the first phase, 
including haircare places, gyms, community centers, libraries, museums 
and entertainment venues.

In Wyandotte County, elective dental procedures are discouraged for now.

Government
 offices remain closed although people can do various services online, 
including vehicle titling and registration. More information is at the <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/auto" target="_blank">Unified Government’s website</a>.

Lynn Horsley is a freelance writer in Kansas City. Follow her on Twitter @LynnHorsley.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589205232552.png" alt="Restaurants and many other mom-and-pop stores in downtown Overland Park will be allowed to open Monday, May 11, with some restrictions still in place. Sam Zeff / KCUR" />
 <figcaption>Restaurants and many other mom-and-pop stores in downtown Overland Park will be allowed to open Monday, May 11, with some restrictions still in place. Sam Zeff / KCUR</figcaption>
 </figure>By LYNN HORSLEY <a href="https://www.kcur.org/community/2020-05-11/here-is-what-people-can-and-cant-do-as-johnson-and-wyandotte-counties-begin-to-gradually-reopen">Kansas News Service</a>Johnson and Wyandotte Counties begin to gradually reopen their 
economies on Monday, May 11, following weeks of stringent stay-home 
orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.They follow Kansas City, Missouri, which began allowing some non-essential businesses to reopen Wednesday, May 6.<a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-05-06/heres-what-people-can-do-and-not-do-in-kansas-city-missouri-as-stay-at-home-order-partially-lifts" target="_blank">Read KCUR’s “Here’s What People Can Do – And Not Do – In Kansas City, Missouri, As Stay-At-Home Order Partially Lifts”</a>Health
 officers in Johnson and Wyandotte counties said they thought a May 11 
start date was safer for their communities. They still are strongly 
urging people who are out and about to wear cloth masks in public 
settings.Johnson County is mostly following Kansas Gov. Laura 
Kelly’s phased approach in reopening statewide, while Wyandotte County 
is taking a more restrictive approach.<h2>Johnson County</h2>In
 Johnson County, here are some of the places that residents and 
customers can start to visit that they couldn’t before. You can read the
 county’s reopening plan <a href="https://jocogov.org/sites/default/files/documents/CMO/Phased%20opening%20in%20Johnson%20County%202.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<ol>
 <li>Offices
 such as law firms and advertising agencies that don’t usually serve the
 public can open with social distancing among workers.</li><li>Restaurants can offer dine-in service for parties of 10 or fewer people but tables must be at least 6 feet apart.</li><li>Farmers markets are allowed, with social distancing.</li><li>Retail stores such as clothing and gift shops can serve shoppers, with social distancing.</li><li>Churches can hold services with more than 10 people but social distancing is required between families.</li><li>The motor vehicle offices in Olathe and Mission are open on a limited basis, but reservations are required. (You can make them <a href="https://www.jocogov.org/residents/vehicles" target="_blank">here</a> in order to secure a place in line.) Still, the county strongly urges patrons to conduct as much business online as possible.</li><li>The New Century and Executive airports are also open as of Monday, May 11.</li>
 </ol>However, here are the things you still can’t do:<ol>
 <li>Visit a bar or nightclub except for curbside or carryout.</li><li>Get a haircut or a massage.</li><li>Visit a gym, library, playground or community center.</li><li>Attend a theater or other indoor entertainment venue.</li>
 </ol>Those types of businesses can’t open at least until May 18 under <a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Reopen-Kansas-Framework.pdf" target="_blank">Kansas’ reopening plan.</a> That second phase depends on virus data trends improving.Johnson County Library is also developing a phased reopening plan and more information will be <a href="https://www.jocolibrary.org/" target="_blank">at the Library’s website.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589205343951.png" alt="Businesses like this family owned cupcake store in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, have been closed to walk-in business since the shutdown started in mid-March. Laura Ziegler photo" />
 <figcaption>Businesses like this family owned cupcake store in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, have been closed to walk-in business since the shutdown started in mid-March. Laura Ziegler photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Wyandotte County</h2>Wyandotte County has a more gradual plan for reopening. The details can be read <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/RestartWYCOGuidanceDocument043020.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.In the first phase, most people are still urged to stay at home as much as possible. Here are some important details:<ol>
 <li>Offices, manufacturing and logistical businesses can open with social distancing among workers and customers.</li><li>No
 dine-in restaurant service is allowed and farmers markets are 
discouraged. Carry out and curbside service are allowed with 6-foot 
social distancing, as are food trucks.</li><li>Hotels and motels can operate at no more than 25% capacity.</li><li>Church
 services, including weddings and funerals, can only accommodate 10 
percent of capacity as determined by the fire marshal, and personal 
greetings are discouraged.</li>
 </ol>As in Johnson County, many 
businesses and functions will remain closed in the first phase, 
including haircare places, gyms, community centers, libraries, museums 
and entertainment venues.In Wyandotte County, elective dental procedures are discouraged for now.Government
 offices remain closed although people can do various services online, 
including vehicle titling and registration. More information is at the <a href="https://www.wycokck.org/auto" target="_blank">Unified Government’s website</a>.Lynn Horsley is a freelance writer in Kansas City. Follow her on Twitter @LynnHorsley.

What the reopening of Johnson, Wyandotte counties looks like

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a century’s progress in science, 2020 is looking a lot like 1918.

In the years between two lethal pandemics, one the misnamed Spanish flu, the other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak">COVID-19</a>, the world learned about viruses, cured various diseases, made effective vaccines, developed instant communications and created elaborate public-health networks.

Yet here we are again, face-masked to the max. And still unable to crush an insidious yet avoidable infectious disease before hundreds of thousands die from it.

As in 1918, people are again hearing hollow assurances at odds with the reality of hospitals and morgues filling up and bank accounts draining. The ancient common sense of quarantining is back. So is quackery: Rub raw onions on your chest, they said in 1918. How about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7f0a9a77dad8c8722aa54fef45e8667b">disinfectant in your veins</a>&nbsp;now? mused President Donald Trump, drawing gasps instead of laughs over what he weakly tried to pass off as a joke.

In 1918, no one had a vaccine, treatment or cure for the great flu pandemic as it ravaged the world and killed more than 50 million people. No one has any of that for the coronavirus, either.

Modern science quickly identified&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak">today’s new coronavirus</a>, mapped its genetic code and developed a diagnostic test, tapping knowledge no one had in 1918. That has given people more of a fighting chance to stay out of harm’s way, at least in countries that deployed tests quickly, which the U.S. didn’t.

But the ways to avoid getting sick and what to do when sick are little changed. The failure of U.S. presidents to take the threat seriously from the start also joins past to present.

Trump all but declared victory before infection took root in his country and he’s delivered a stream of misinformation ever since. President Woodrow Wilson’s principal failure was his silence.

Not once, historians say, did Wilson publicly speak about a disease that was killing Americans grotesquely and in huge numbers, even though he contracted it himself and was never the same after. Wilson fixated on America’s parallel fight in World War I like “a dog with a bone,” says John M. Barry, author of “The Great Influenza.”

The suspected ground zero of the Spanish flu ranges from Kansas to China. But it was clear to U.S. officials even in 1918 that it didn’t start in Spain.

The pandemic took on Spain’s name only because its free press ambitiously reported the devastation in the disease’s early 1918 wave while government officials and a complicit press in countries at war — the U.S. among them — played it down in a time of jingoism, censorship and denial.

Like COVID-19, the 1918 pandemic came from a respiratory virus that jumped from animals to people, was transmitted the same way, and had similar pathology, Barry said by email. Social distancing, hand-washing and masks were leading control measures then and now.

<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-opinion-flashback-1918-flu-pandemic-timeline-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">Medical advice from then&nbsp;</a>also resonates today: “If you get it, stay at home, rest in bed, keep warm, drink hot drinks and stay quiet until the symptoms are past,” said Dr. John Dill Robertson, Chicago health commissioner in 1918. “Then continue to be careful, for the greatest danger is from pneumonia or some kindred disease after the influenza is gone.”

In the manner of the day, there just had to be a catchy rhyme in circulation, too: “Cover up each cough and sneeze. If you don’t you’ll spread disease.”

But there were also marked differences between the viruses of 1918 and 2020. The Spanish flu was particularly dangerous to healthy people aged 20 to 40 — the prime generation of military service — paradoxically because of their vibrant immune systems.

When such people got infected, their antibodies went after the virus like soldiers spilling from the trenches of Europe’s killing fields.

“The immune system was throwing every weapon it had at the virus,” Barry said. “The battlefield was the lung. The lung was being destroyed in that battle.”

Young soldiers and sailors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/pandemic-timeline-1918.htm" target="_blank">massed at military camps</a>&nbsp;in the U.S., sailed for Europe on ships stuffed to the gunwales with humanity, fought side by side in the trenches and came home in victory to adoring crowds. The toll was enormous, on them and the people they infected. The Spanish flu could just as easily have been called the U.S. Army or U.S. Navy flu instead. Or the German or British flu, for that matter.

Among those who died in the pandemic was Friedrich Trump, Donald Trump’s paternal grandfather. Among those who contracted it and recovered were the wartime leaders of Britain and Germany as well as of the United States, British and Spanish kings and the future U.S. president, Franklin Roosevelt, when he was assistant Navy secretary.

But the toll was heavier on average people and the poor, crowded in tenements, street cars and sweaty factories.

They could not all live by the words of the 1918 U.S. surgeon general, Rupert Blue: “Keep out of crowds and stuffy places as much as possible. ... The value of fresh air through open windows cannot be overemphasized. ... Make every possible effort to breath as much pure air as possible.”

An estimated 675,000 Americans died in the pandemic, which is thought to have infected one-third of the global population.&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Tracking by Johns Hopkins University</a>&nbsp;shows the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 250,000 people globally, more than 68,000 in the United States.

In 1918, the surgeon general noted in a handbill that “a person who has only a mild attack of the disease himself may give a very severe attack to others.” The warning is just as applicable to the coronavirus, especially as scientists learned large numbers of people with COVID-19 may spread it despite no obvious symptoms. Exactly how often the new virus kills can’t be determined without better counts of the infected; some estimates&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3291398/" target="_blank">put the 1918 flu’s death rate at 2.5%.</a>

Blue’s public notice also warned people to avoid charlatans and only get medicine from doctors.

Physicians, though, didn’t always know what they were doing. Medical journals at the time describe a rash of unusual treatments, some in the league of Trump’s amateur theories about disinfectant, blasts of lights and an unapproved drug that has both potential benefits and risks.

One 1918-era doctor recommended that people sniff a boric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) powder to rinse out nasal passages. Others prescribed quinine, strychnine and a poisonous garden plant called Digitalis to help circulation, as well as drugs derived from iodine for “internal disinfection,” according to Laura Spinney, who wrote the 2017 book “Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World.”

Popular theories spread that warming your feet would prevent infection, or gobbling brown sugar, or getting the onion rubdown. A “clean heart” was one supposed preventive, though it is not clear whether that meant the organ or the heart of love.

“There was no Tony Fauci back then,” Barry said in a remote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-9104/" target="_blank">Library of Congress interview</a>&nbsp;in April.

We have Fauci now — a federal immunologist who has been regarded as the truth-teller in White House briefings, singularly immune to Trump’s positive spin and falsehoods. Plus, we know so much more than people did in 1918.

Yet we’re still hearing lots of Dark Ages nonsense.

Conspiracy theorists have blamed COVID-19 on the development of 5G networks, just as they say radio waves caused the 1918 flu. Arsonists recently torched more than a dozen British cell towers after that falsehood circulated.

Over the months of this pandemic, The Associated Press has debunked a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/Fact-checking">series of bogus remedies&nbsp;</a>that spread on Facebook, Twitter and the like. No, blasting hot air up your nose from a hair dryer won’t protect you. Nor will drinking tonic water, eating high-alkaline foods, stuffing antibiotic ointment up your nose, downing vodka or any home elixir.

No, it’s not true that if you can’t hold your breath very long, you have COVID-19. Or that a vaccine from a lab only works on a disease created by a lab.

Social distancing has not come with social-media distancing. Over a century of science, we haven’t gone back to the future, but ahead to the past.

In September 1918, as the Spanish flu’s second and by far deadliest wave hit in the U.S., Philadelphia’s public health chief disregarded advisers and let a massive war-bond parade proceed through downtown. The H1N1 virus raced through the masses in what has been called the world’s deadliest parade. As officials insisted there was nothing to be alarmed about, people were seeing neighbors sicken and die with astonishing speed and mass graves being dug.

“It’s just the flu” had worn thin as the mantra of officialdom.

Late that November, sirens wailed in San Francisco to sound the all-clear after six weeks of lockdown and tell people they could remove their masks. San Francisco, like many cities in the West, had been largely spared the first wave and spent the interval preparing for Round 2, mandating masks and jailing people who didn’t comply.

They had a rhyme for that, too, of course: “Obey the laws, and wear the gauze. Protect your jaws from septic paws.”

<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/influenza-san-francisco/" target="_blank">The precautions paid off&nbsp;</a>with a death rate lower than in afflicted cities elsewhere. But the city relaxed too soon.

In December, thousands of new cases erupted. A wave spilling into the new year was underway. San Francisco’s death toll mounted by more than 1,000. It was the last lashing by the Spanish flu, and a less lethal one.

The brutal lessons of 1918 and 1919? To Barry, who was enlisted 15 years ago in a Bush administration drive to prepare all levels of government for pandemics, they are to respond early, relax cautiously, tell people the truth.

Instead he has seen denial followed by a chaotic federal response and leadership vacuum as Washington and the states compete for the same medical essentials and now move fitfully toward reopening.

“Now we have plans, even war-gamed the plans, spent billions preparing for just what is happening, federal agencies have been tasked to handle all these things, and we get ... next to nothing,” he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a century’s progress in science, 2020 is looking a lot like 1918.In the years between two lethal pandemics, one the misnamed Spanish flu, the other&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak">COVID-19</a>, the world learned about viruses, cured various diseases, made effective vaccines, developed instant communications and created elaborate public-health networks.Yet here we are again, face-masked to the max. And still unable to crush an insidious yet avoidable infectious disease before hundreds of thousands die from it.As in 1918, people are again hearing hollow assurances at odds with the reality of hospitals and morgues filling up and bank accounts draining. The ancient common sense of quarantining is back. So is quackery: Rub raw onions on your chest, they said in 1918. How about&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/7f0a9a77dad8c8722aa54fef45e8667b">disinfectant in your veins</a>&nbsp;now? mused President Donald Trump, drawing gasps instead of laughs over what he weakly tried to pass off as a joke.In 1918, no one had a vaccine, treatment or cure for the great flu pandemic as it ravaged the world and killed more than 50 million people. No one has any of that for the coronavirus, either.Modern science quickly identified&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak">today’s new coronavirus</a>, mapped its genetic code and developed a diagnostic test, tapping knowledge no one had in 1918. That has given people more of a fighting chance to stay out of harm’s way, at least in countries that deployed tests quickly, which the U.S. didn’t.But the ways to avoid getting sick and what to do when sick are little changed. The failure of U.S. presidents to take the threat seriously from the start also joins past to present.Trump all but declared victory before infection took root in his country and he’s delivered a stream of misinformation ever since. President Woodrow Wilson’s principal failure was his silence.Not once, historians say, did Wilson publicly speak about a disease that was killing Americans grotesquely and in huge numbers, even though he contracted it himself and was never the same after. Wilson fixated on America’s parallel fight in World War I like “a dog with a bone,” says John M. Barry, author of “The Great Influenza.”The suspected ground zero of the Spanish flu ranges from Kansas to China. But it was clear to U.S. officials even in 1918 that it didn’t start in Spain.The pandemic took on Spain’s name only because its free press ambitiously reported the devastation in the disease’s early 1918 wave while government officials and a complicit press in countries at war — the U.S. among them — played it down in a time of jingoism, censorship and denial.Like COVID-19, the 1918 pandemic came from a respiratory virus that jumped from animals to people, was transmitted the same way, and had similar pathology, Barry said by email. Social distancing, hand-washing and masks were leading control measures then and now.<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-opinion-flashback-1918-flu-pandemic-timeline-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">Medical advice from then&nbsp;</a>also resonates today: “If you get it, stay at home, rest in bed, keep warm, drink hot drinks and stay quiet until the symptoms are past,” said Dr. John Dill Robertson, Chicago health commissioner in 1918. “Then continue to be careful, for the greatest danger is from pneumonia or some kindred disease after the influenza is gone.”In the manner of the day, there just had to be a catchy rhyme in circulation, too: “Cover up each cough and sneeze. If you don’t you’ll spread disease.”But there were also marked differences between the viruses of 1918 and 2020. The Spanish flu was particularly dangerous to healthy people aged 20 to 40 — the prime generation of military service — paradoxically because of their vibrant immune systems.When such people got infected, their antibodies went after the virus like soldiers spilling from the trenches of Europe’s killing fields.“The immune system was throwing every weapon it had at the virus,” Barry said. “The battlefield was the lung. The lung was being destroyed in that battle.”Young soldiers and sailors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/pandemic-timeline-1918.htm" target="_blank">massed at military camps</a>&nbsp;in the U.S., sailed for Europe on ships stuffed to the gunwales with humanity, fought side by side in the trenches and came home in victory to adoring crowds. The toll was enormous, on them and the people they infected. The Spanish flu could just as easily have been called the U.S. Army or U.S. Navy flu instead. Or the German or British flu, for that matter.Among those who died in the pandemic was Friedrich Trump, Donald Trump’s paternal grandfather. Among those who contracted it and recovered were the wartime leaders of Britain and Germany as well as of the United States, British and Spanish kings and the future U.S. president, Franklin Roosevelt, when he was assistant Navy secretary.But the toll was heavier on average people and the poor, crowded in tenements, street cars and sweaty factories.They could not all live by the words of the 1918 U.S. surgeon general, Rupert Blue: “Keep out of crowds and stuffy places as much as possible. ... The value of fresh air through open windows cannot be overemphasized. ... Make every possible effort to breath as much pure air as possible.”An estimated 675,000 Americans died in the pandemic, which is thought to have infected one-third of the global population.&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Tracking by Johns Hopkins University</a>&nbsp;shows the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 250,000 people globally, more than 68,000 in the United States.___BAD SCIENCEIn 1918, the surgeon general noted in a handbill that “a person who has only a mild attack of the disease himself may give a very severe attack to others.” The warning is just as applicable to the coronavirus, especially as scientists learned large numbers of people with COVID-19 may spread it despite no obvious symptoms. Exactly how often the new virus kills can’t be determined without better counts of the infected; some estimates&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3291398/" target="_blank">put the 1918 flu’s death rate at 2.5%.</a>Blue’s public notice also warned people to avoid charlatans and only get medicine from doctors.Physicians, though, didn’t always know what they were doing. Medical journals at the time describe a rash of unusual treatments, some in the league of Trump’s amateur theories about disinfectant, blasts of lights and an unapproved drug that has both potential benefits and risks.One 1918-era doctor recommended that people sniff a boric acid and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) powder to rinse out nasal passages. Others prescribed quinine, strychnine and a poisonous garden plant called Digitalis to help circulation, as well as drugs derived from iodine for “internal disinfection,” according to Laura Spinney, who wrote the 2017 book “Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World.”Popular theories spread that warming your feet would prevent infection, or gobbling brown sugar, or getting the onion rubdown. A “clean heart” was one supposed preventive, though it is not clear whether that meant the organ or the heart of love.“There was no Tony Fauci back then,” Barry said in a remote&nbsp;<a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-9104/" target="_blank">Library of Congress interview</a>&nbsp;in April.We have Fauci now — a federal immunologist who has been regarded as the truth-teller in White House briefings, singularly immune to Trump’s positive spin and falsehoods. Plus, we know so much more than people did in 1918.Yet we’re still hearing lots of Dark Ages nonsense.Conspiracy theorists have blamed COVID-19 on the development of 5G networks, just as they say radio waves caused the 1918 flu. Arsonists recently torched more than a dozen British cell towers after that falsehood circulated.Over the months of this pandemic, The Associated Press has debunked a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/Fact-checking">series of bogus remedies&nbsp;</a>that spread on Facebook, Twitter and the like. No, blasting hot air up your nose from a hair dryer won’t protect you. Nor will drinking tonic water, eating high-alkaline foods, stuffing antibiotic ointment up your nose, downing vodka or any home elixir.No, it’s not true that if you can’t hold your breath very long, you have COVID-19. Or that a vaccine from a lab only works on a disease created by a lab.Social distancing has not come with social-media distancing. Over a century of science, we haven’t gone back to the future, but ahead to the past.___LESSONS OF 1918 (and 1919)In September 1918, as the Spanish flu’s second and by far deadliest wave hit in the U.S., Philadelphia’s public health chief disregarded advisers and let a massive war-bond parade proceed through downtown. The H1N1 virus raced through the masses in what has been called the world’s deadliest parade. As officials insisted there was nothing to be alarmed about, people were seeing neighbors sicken and die with astonishing speed and mass graves being dug.“It’s just the flu” had worn thin as the mantra of officialdom.Late that November, sirens wailed in San Francisco to sound the all-clear after six weeks of lockdown and tell people they could remove their masks. San Francisco, like many cities in the West, had been largely spared the first wave and spent the interval preparing for Round 2, mandating masks and jailing people who didn’t comply.They had a rhyme for that, too, of course: “Obey the laws, and wear the gauze. Protect your jaws from septic paws.”<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/influenza-san-francisco/" target="_blank">The precautions paid off&nbsp;</a>with a death rate lower than in afflicted cities elsewhere. But the city relaxed too soon.In December, thousands of new cases erupted. A wave spilling into the new year was underway. San Francisco’s death toll mounted by more than 1,000. It was the last lashing by the Spanish flu, and a less lethal one.The brutal lessons of 1918 and 1919? To Barry, who was enlisted 15 years ago in a Bush administration drive to prepare all levels of government for pandemics, they are to respond early, relax cautiously, tell people the truth.Instead he has seen denial followed by a chaotic federal response and leadership vacuum as Washington and the states compete for the same medical essentials and now move fitfully toward reopening.“Now we have plans, even war-gamed the plans, spent billions preparing for just what is happening, federal agencies have been tasked to handle all these things, and we get ... next to nothing,” he said.Not even a jingle.

Virus-afflicted 2020 looks like 1918 despite science's march

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence was self-isolating Sunday after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus last week, but he planned to return to the White House on Monday.

An administration official said Pence was voluntarily keeping his distance from other people in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19 since his exposure but was following the advice of medical officials.

His action came after three of the nation’s top scientists took their own protective steps following possible exposure to a White House staffer infected by the coronavirus.

“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine,” spokesman Devin O’Malley said Sunday. “Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow.”

Pence has been at home since returning to Washington from a day trip to Iowa on Friday and did not appear at President Donald Trump’s meeting with military leaders Saturday at the White House. Pence was informed of the aide’s positive test shortly before departing for that trip.

An official initially said Pence planned to continue working from home, before Pence’s office clarified that he planned to work from the White House on Monday. It was not immediately clear how Pence’s steps to self-isolate would impact his professional or public engagements.

Pence has led the White House coronavirus task force for more than two months. Top officials who have gone into quarantine because of exposure to a person at the White House who tested positive for the virus are Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC; and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn.

Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week.

A military service member who acts as a valet to the president tested positive on Thursday, the first known instance where a person in close proximity to the president at the White House had tested positive.

After Miller was identified as having tested positive, Trump said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.

The three other task force members have indicated varying plans for dealing with their exposure. None has announced testing positive for the virus and, taking into account what has been described as limited exposure to the infected person, are considered at relatively low risk for infection.

Fauci’s institute said he was “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to others while still carrying out his duties, teleworking from home but willing to go to the White House if called. Officials said both Redfield and Hahn will be self-quarantining for two weeks.

The three officials were expected to testify by videoconference before a Senate health committee on Tuesday. On Sunday night, the office of the chairman of the committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced that the senator would be self-quarantining in Tennessee for two weeks after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Alexander too will participate in the hearing by videoconference.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/4/1586429670186.png" alt="Vice President Mike Pence answers questions during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing last month-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>Vice President Mike Pence answers questions during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing last month-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence was self-isolating Sunday after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus last week, but he planned to return to the White House on Monday.An administration official said Pence was voluntarily keeping his distance from other people in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19 since his exposure but was following the advice of medical officials.His action came after three of the nation’s top scientists took their own protective steps following possible exposure to a White House staffer infected by the coronavirus.“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine,” spokesman Devin O’Malley said Sunday. “Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow.”Pence has been at home since returning to Washington from a day trip to Iowa on Friday and did not appear at President Donald Trump’s meeting with military leaders Saturday at the White House. Pence was informed of the aide’s positive test shortly before departing for that trip.An official initially said Pence planned to continue working from home, before Pence’s office clarified that he planned to work from the White House on Monday. It was not immediately clear how Pence’s steps to self-isolate would impact his professional or public engagements.Pence has led the White House coronavirus task force for more than two months. Top officials who have gone into quarantine because of exposure to a person at the White House who tested positive for the virus are Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC; and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn.Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week.A military service member who acts as a valet to the president tested positive on Thursday, the first known instance where a person in close proximity to the president at the White House had tested positive.After Miller was identified as having tested positive, Trump said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.The three other task force members have indicated varying plans for dealing with their exposure. None has announced testing positive for the virus and, taking into account what has been described as limited exposure to the infected person, are considered at relatively low risk for infection.Fauci’s institute said he was “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk to others while still carrying out his duties, teleworking from home but willing to go to the White House if called. Officials said both Redfield and Hahn will be self-quarantining for two weeks.The three officials were expected to testify by videoconference before a Senate health committee on Tuesday. On Sunday night, the office of the chairman of the committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced that the senator would be self-quarantining in Tennessee for two weeks after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Alexander too will participate in the hearing by videoconference.<a href="https://bttrack.com/Click/Native?data=AFVDc9wbmOGpfzAhFqm7EIQtJ_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" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PAI</a>

Vice Pres. expected back at work after exposure to infected aide

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas harvester Mike Keimig is growing increasingly anxious about whether the foreign seasonal workers he needs to run his nine combines and drive his grain trucks will arrive in time for the start of the winter wheat harvest, which is just weeks away.

His regular crew mostly comprises farm kids from South Africa who return to work for him every year, but they are stuck overseas. The paperwork for about half of the 20 agricultural worker visas he has applied for remains in limbo at the shuttered U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg.

The closure of embassies and consulates due to the coronavirus pandemic is not the only obstacle to bringing in seasonal workers. Governments have closed their borders. Overseas workers who have visas cannot get on a flight. And once they arrive, they would face weeks of quarantine before they could work.

“It will definitely have a big impact on our finances ... if we can’t get help to run our equipment,” Keimig said.

“It would even have an effect on the farmers. Well, maybe they can find somebody besides us to do it, I don’t know?” he said. “But I think it would be a little tough because there are a lot of us in the same situation.”

Harvester crews typically traverse the nation with their combines and grain trucks taking on work where the crops are ripening. They usually work the same farms every season, saving the farmers the cost of investing in harvester equipment.

About 30% of U.S. harvest operations use foreign workers on their crews, according to Mandi Sieren, operations manager for the industry trade group U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc.

Temporary agricultural worker H-2A visas have been largely spared from immigration rollbacks because agriculture is an essential industry, but the workers can’t travel to the U.S. right now because of the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Sieren said.

As for hiring locally, harvesters “would absolutely love to hire Americans but there are not very many Americans who would leave home for six to nine months at a time,” she said.

As many as half of the workers who harvest U.S. wheat and other grain crops are seasonal foreign workers, said Ryan Haffner, a Kansas harvester and board member for U.S. Custom Harvesters.

“We are always looking for American workers. I mean, that is a constant search,” Haffner said. But many Americans are “disconnected from agriculture” and lack interest or the skills required to work in farming.

“There are more people overseas really that have an interest and still a working knowledge of agriculture,” he said.

Modern harvesting machines are computerized and sophisticated, so it’s not easy for the city-dwelling unemployed to just pick up, adapt and learn to operate them, Haffner said.

Typically, a third of Haffner’s crew of up to 20 workers is American, while the rest come from South Africa, Europe and South America. He has the agricultural worker visas for his foreign workers for this harvest season, but was only able to get a few of them into the U.S. before coronavirus restrictions effectively shut the others out.

The harvest season begins in mid-May in north-central Texas, before moving into Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota. In the summer, they cut mostly wheat. In early fall, they harvest peas, canola, soybeans, grain sorghum and corn. Haffner can’t afford to miss a season.

“I have got $5 million worth of equipment — I can’t not be there,” Haffner said. “So we are going to be there. We are going to get to our customers. It is just going to be much more difficult than usual. We intend to get through it.”

Some harvesters are turning to relatives and friends to work for a few weeks or more until the foreign workers can arrive. Some have been able to hire Americans for the whole season. Others are trying to do as much as they can themselves.

Don Kotapish, a 72-year-old farmer who also does a bit of cutting for others on the side, usually brings in a couple of workers from South Africa to help him on his 6,500-acre property in Blue Rapids, Kansas. He said he has been working from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. or later every day because he hasn’t been able to hire any help.

“Not only are we short on help, but we aren’t getting anything for our products,” Kotapish said. “The cattleman and the grain farmers are all in the same situation. That adds more stress.”

Texas harvester Shorty Kulhanek usually hires fewer than five seasonal workers, and he has been able to pick up some workers from Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin and Washington this season. He said it was easier to find Americans to join his crew because so many people are out of work.

Furthermore, Kulhanek’s applications for seasonal agricultural worker visas have yet to be approved, and he was told that might not happen until July 15.

“I can’t wait that long,” he said. “I have to proceed with what I can get.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1589039066122.png" alt="Farmer cuts a northwest Kansas wheat field in 2019" />
 <figcaption>Farmer cuts a northwest Kansas wheat field in 2019</figcaption>
 </figure>BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas harvester Mike Keimig is growing increasingly anxious about whether the foreign seasonal workers he needs to run his nine combines and drive his grain trucks will arrive in time for the start of the winter wheat harvest, which is just weeks away.His regular crew mostly comprises farm kids from South Africa who return to work for him every year, but they are stuck overseas. The paperwork for about half of the 20 agricultural worker visas he has applied for remains in limbo at the shuttered U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg.The closure of embassies and consulates due to the coronavirus pandemic is not the only obstacle to bringing in seasonal workers. Governments have closed their borders. Overseas workers who have visas cannot get on a flight. And once they arrive, they would face weeks of quarantine before they could work.“It will definitely have a big impact on our finances ... if we can’t get help to run our equipment,” Keimig said.“It would even have an effect on the farmers. Well, maybe they can find somebody besides us to do it, I don’t know?” he said. “But I think it would be a little tough because there are a lot of us in the same situation.”Harvester crews typically traverse the nation with their combines and grain trucks taking on work where the crops are ripening. They usually work the same farms every season, saving the farmers the cost of investing in harvester equipment.About 30% of U.S. harvest operations use foreign workers on their crews, according to Mandi Sieren, operations manager for the industry trade group U.S. Custom Harvesters Inc.Temporary agricultural worker H-2A visas have been largely spared from immigration rollbacks because agriculture is an essential industry, but the workers can’t travel to the U.S. right now because of the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Sieren said.As for hiring locally, harvesters “would absolutely love to hire Americans but there are not very many Americans who would leave home for six to nine months at a time,” she said.As many as half of the workers who harvest U.S. wheat and other grain crops are seasonal foreign workers, said Ryan Haffner, a Kansas harvester and board member for U.S. Custom Harvesters.“We are always looking for American workers. I mean, that is a constant search,” Haffner said. But many Americans are “disconnected from agriculture” and lack interest or the skills required to work in farming.“There are more people overseas really that have an interest and still a working knowledge of agriculture,” he said.Modern harvesting machines are computerized and sophisticated, so it’s not easy for the city-dwelling unemployed to just pick up, adapt and learn to operate them, Haffner said.Typically, a third of Haffner’s crew of up to 20 workers is American, while the rest come from South Africa, Europe and South America. He has the agricultural worker visas for his foreign workers for this harvest season, but was only able to get a few of them into the U.S. before coronavirus restrictions effectively shut the others out.The harvest season begins in mid-May in north-central Texas, before moving into Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota. In the summer, they cut mostly wheat. In early fall, they harvest peas, canola, soybeans, grain sorghum and corn. Haffner can’t afford to miss a season.“I have got $5 million worth of equipment — I can’t not be there,” Haffner said. “So we are going to be there. We are going to get to our customers. It is just going to be much more difficult than usual. We intend to get through it.”Some harvesters are turning to relatives and friends to work for a few weeks or more until the foreign workers can arrive. Some have been able to hire Americans for the whole season. Others are trying to do as much as they can themselves.Don Kotapish, a 72-year-old farmer who also does a bit of cutting for others on the side, usually brings in a couple of workers from South Africa to help him on his 6,500-acre property in Blue Rapids, Kansas. He said he has been working from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. or later every day because he hasn’t been able to hire any help.“Not only are we short on help, but we aren’t getting anything for our products,” Kotapish said. “The cattleman and the grain farmers are all in the same situation. That adds more stress.”Texas harvester Shorty Kulhanek usually hires fewer than five seasonal workers, and he has been able to pick up some workers from Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin and Washington this season. He said it was easier to find Americans to join his crew because so many people are out of work.Furthermore, Kulhanek’s applications for seasonal agricultural worker visas have yet to be approved, and he was told that might not happen until July 15.“I can’t wait that long,” he said. “I have to proceed with what I can get.”

Coronavirus Update