Stay-At-Home! It’s important. It may even save your life — or the life of someone else.

That is the message Kerianne Ehrlich, Ellsworth County Health Department supervisor, has delivered time and again since the spread of the coronavirus was declared a pandemic earlier this year.

She shared a few of her experiences at the April 2 meeting of the Local Emergency Planning Committee.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand the stay-at-home part of this,” she said. “Stay-at-home means don’t run to Salina to Walmart, Dillons, Aldis, whatever, to get your few groceries. I feel like we have everything here in the county that you would need to survive for a couple of weeks. It might not be what you want, it might not be the brand you like, you might have to pay a little bit more. Stay-at-home means stay-at-home.”

As many as 150 people may have touched every surface at Walmart, she said.

“You touch that surface and you bring it right back to Ellsworth County,” she continued. “We have to realize the stay-at-home is in place for a reason. It is to reduce that unnecessary travel out of town.”

Neither does stayingat-home mean throwing a party at your neighbor’s home.

“We been kind of using a saying in our office — if they live with you that’s fine. If they don’t live with you, they shouldn’t be there,” she said.

Ehrlich said there are no positive cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, so far in Ellsworth County. She said the seven people tested are negative for the virus. Kansas has reported 845 cases of COVID-19 with 25 deaths.

Ehrlich said she shut down all selfservice drink stations in the county, including soda fountains and coffee, cappuccino and iced tea stations at Casey’s, Ampride, Kwik Shop and Stop 2 Shop at Wilson.

Ehrlich said she also issued a directive this past week to rope off playground equipment in the county’s public parks.

“We went ahead and left the parks open so you can still walk and everything like that, but we have shut down the play equipment,” she said.

Ehrlich said the Ellsworth Golf Course remains open but disc golf has been closed. However, she has decided to reopen the disc golf, because there is really no difference between disc golf and the regular golf course.

“I have instructed that it be single player only, and that there is no leagues for the disc golf,” Ehrlich said.

Golfers at the Ellsworth Golf Course will not be allowed to rent carts because two people in a golf cart cannot be the required six feet apart.

“We’re letting it go, because it’s technically an outdoor activity,” she said. “Using a golf cart is defeating your purpose of the exercise you are out there truly to get for an outdoor activity.”

Kansas receives equipment

Keith Haberer, emergency management director for Ellsworth and Russell counties, said state health officials are still working on the idea of allowing self-service drinks.

Ehrlich said if the state allows selfservice drinks, she will seek approval of a county ordinance not allowing them. That would require approval by the Ellsworth County commissioners.

Haberer said carry-out alcohol is also being discussed by state health officials.

“You can take wine or beer, but now they’re looking at by executive order possibly, we don’t know yet, about allowing mixed drinks,” he said. “This stuff changes constantly.”

Haberer said Kansas expects to receive its second shipment of personal protective equipment from the strategic national stockpile. More supplies will be needed.

“There’s going to be a gap,” Haberer said. “Maybe not here at our location. I hope we have enough PPE, but in other areas there is definitely going to be a gap between what they have ordered from the state and what they’ve got in, and how long it’s going to take to get future shipments in.”

He said state officials are working hard to close the gap.

Haberer also discouraged voluntary burning.

“There are more and more counties next to us that have cases of COVID-19, so if guys call up, I’m telling them it’s strongly encouraged that you don’t burn right now,” he said.

(Note: Ellsworth County commissioners approved a county-wide burn ban Monday that remains in effect until May 6. See Page A8.)

Rules for turkey hunters

Also discouraged are those people coming to Kansas from out-of-state to hunt turkeys.

“They need to follow the local health department rules,” he said. “If that means quarantine for 14 days if you are coming from one of the travel hot spots, then you have to quarantine for 14 days before you go out hunting.”

Imminent threats

Haberer also discussed emergency shelters. He said the Kansas Department of Emergency Management advises that if an emergency shelter should need opened due to a tornado, local officials should go by the most imminent threat.

“If it’s a tornado, that’s more of an imminent threat than catching COVID-19,” he said. “So maintain your social distancing in the shelter, maintain your hand washing.”

Haberer said health officials recommend everybody in a shelter not wear masks and gloves, because Dr. Lee Norman of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has said wearing masks doesn’t do any good unless you actually have COVID-19.

Keep landfills open

Haberer said KDHE recommends that county landfills do not shut down.

He said if they are closed, garbage could build up and create an issue.

“That’s going to cause more of a hazard than if you keep it (the landfill) open,” Haberer added.

Ehrlich said after attending a meeting this past week of the Ellsworth County Medical Center staff, a recommendation of seven days at home was approved for people who just don’t feel good and call the clinic for an appointment to treat anything other than known allergies.

These symptoms include nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, increased fatigue or weakness, fever or cough.