2 Kansas children hospitalized with syndrome linked to novel coronavirus

Dr. Lee Norman, the secretary for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said there are now two children in the state that have been hospitalized with Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (PMIS), a disease linked to the novel coronavirus.

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, but PMIS affects organs and blood vessels, similar to symptoms of Kawasaki disease. Not all children with PMIS have had COVID-19, but many have tested positive for the antibodies.

During a briefing on Friday, Dr. Norman said the children are being treated at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.

He said he also knows of two infants, ages 2 months and 4 months, that have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

"We cannot let our guard down and we cannot make any assumptions that children, will somehow get off scot-free from this. They don't," said Norman.

COVID-19 has affected Kansans age 0 to 103 years old, according to KDHE.

Dr. Norman also said another Kansas school or daycare has been identified as a cluster or site of an outbreak (cases of two or more). COVID-19 forced a

until June 2 after two staff members tested positive for the disease.

Dr. Norman said 220 law enforcement officers and offenders have been tested at a rural county jail after two law enforcement officers tested positive for COVID-19.

To date, 145 coronavirus clusters have been identified in Kansas; 101 remain active. The clusters make up nearly half of the state's 10,393 cases with 5,391 positives and 163 deaths.

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Kansas’ four most populous counties reported dozens of new coronavirus cases in the past two days. That's part of an increase that’s occurred since Gov. Laura Kelly lifted statewide restrictions on businesses.

The

said Friday the state has had a total of 10,393 novel coronavirus cases since the pandemic reached was first reported locally in early March. The number of reported deaths linked to the disease is up 10 to 232.

The department’s figures show that 70% of the new cases over the past two days came from the state's four most populous counties. Johnson (906), Sedgwick (635), Shawnee (348), and Wyandotte (1,453) counties accounted for 156 new cases.

Gov. Laura Kelly and KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman will hold a press conference on the latest numbers and the state's response to COVID-19 at a 4 p.m. briefing.

Sedgwick County reported 635 cases of COVID-19 on Friday. That's an increase of 10 from Thursday. Of those cases, 21 have died and 450 have recovered.