TOPEKA — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman discuss the state's battle against the coronavirus during their Friday afternoon news conference.
The Governor briefly addressed the lawsuits two Kansas churches and their pastors filed Thursday against her over an order banning religious gatherings with more than 10 people to help slow the spread of the new coronavirus, arguing that the directive violates their religious and free-speech rights.
Dr. Norman said that after a number of new virus cases were reported in Western Kansas, the KDHE is sending a team to do more testing and investigate. He also discussed work at Kansas State University to determine if mosquitoes can transmit the virus.
Kansas saw its number of confirmed coronavirus cases jump again by more than 100 in a single day, past 1,700 total, the state health department reported Friday. COVID-19 deaths increased to 84.