Kerianne Ehrlich plans to begin looking at the festivals and other large gatherings this summer in light of the COVID-19 crisis, the supervisor of the Ellsworth County Health Department told commissioners at their weekly Monday meeting.

“It will all probably be based on Gov. Laura Kelly’s stay-at-home order and how to kind of plan to allow the reopening of everything,” Ehrlich said.

Ehrlich plans to meet with city officials, mayors and event organizers.

“I know there are some events that probably are going to need to be started planning right now, but I don’t see what the future is going to look like at this point,” she said. “I think a lot of them (event organizers) are going to have to understand we’re going to have to wait to see what orders she (Gov. Kelly) comes out with. It’s all timing and I think they’re (event organizers) going to have to realize it may be last minute.”

“What about the county fair?” asked commissioner Kermit Rush.

“We’ve been talking about that on our KDEM (Kansas Department of Emergency Management) conference calls,” said Keith Haberer, emergency management director for Ellsworth and Russell Counties. “Kids should already be doing their weigh-in for all their animals.”

Haberer said the K-State Extension Service (which includes the Midway Extension District) has shut down all meetings until July 2-4.

“There’s a lot of planning to do if they are going to have a fair,” Rush said.

“I think there are a lot of ifs and unknowns,” Ehrlich said. “I just want everyone to know it’s all based on what Gov. Kelly really decides to do and how she plans the opening.”

“She may open it, but there might be a lot of restrictions,” Rush said.

“And she might extend it (the stay-at-home order),” Haberer said.

“We are not Douglas or Johnson County,” commissioner Dennis Rolfs said.

“I know, but we still get people traveling there,” Haberer said.

“Then let’s do something about that,” Rolfs said.

Rolfs said at some point, officials are going to have to say this is not going to work.

Ehrlich said that is going to be up to Gov. Kelly, because as long as the state has a stay-at-home order in place, the county can’t do anything less.

“What I really hope is that she leaves it to the county or city officials to extend it or not,” Rolfs said. “She’s overstepping her bounds a little bit, I think.”

Ehrlich said she has had Haberer ask the state three times about testing supplies so Ellsworth County could do more testing to see whether COVID-19 is here.

“But we’re not getting any of those supplies,” she said. “What the hospital (Ellsworth County Medical Center) has on hand is what we have for testing supplies.”

Ehrlich said she applied for a $22,000 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to purchase testing kits. Ellsworth County Medical Center has applied for a similar grant to upgrade its testing equipment. Ehrlich said if the health department receives the grant, she plans to purchase hand sanitizing stations for the parks and portable hand sanitizing stations which could be used at the festivals and other large gatherings this summer.