(KAIR)--As the first phase of the Kansas reopening plan takes affect today, area communities prepare for a tiered approach on the road toward some semblance of times prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Friday, the Atchison County Commission held a special meeting where county officials outlined details of Atchison County’s four-phase reopening plan, as signed by County Health Officer Lori Forge, County Emergency Management Director Wes Lanter, and Medical Consultant Dr. Bonnie Tackett, MD.

Lanter explained that while counties can take more aggressive steps than the state, they can not proceed faster than what’s outlined in the Kansas reopening plan. “The Governor started on phase 1, and we have to start on phase 1 at the same time,” Lanter said. “If the Governor switches to phase 2, but we have a huge increase in cases, we don’t have to switch to phase 2 at the same time the Governor does. We can lag behind a week or two. We can not go faster than the Governor, though. Say the Governor gets to phase 2 and she stops, and she sits there for awhile, we can’t go to phase 3 until the Governor goes to phase 3.”

Saying that Atchison County’s tenth confirmed positive case was possibly due to community spread, Forge said she did not want to move to quickly, including continuing the limitation on restaurant operations, a departure from the state’s plan for phase 1. “[We] can’t really go with a cookie-cutter order, you have to look at your county,” Forge stated. “We have St. Joe [Missouri] on one side, with Triumph Food, we have Lansing Correctional Facility. We have so many people who work in so many different areas. We’re not a county with zero [virus cases], or we’re not a county with one case, or we’re not a county with one restaurant. We’re a bigger county with lots of people going in lots of directions.”

Forge added that she is anticipating an increase in the number of cases in Atchison County. “I don’t have a crystal ball, but I feel like our numbers are going to go up before they come down. I don’t think that we’ve seen everything that we’re going to see here.”

The Commission did not need to take action on the plan, which was put into place through an emergency order by Forge.

Social distancing, and other steps to prevent virus spread, remain in place statewide, and County Commission Chairman Jack Bower said his observations in the Atchison area indicate a reminder is necessary. “I was amazed at the number of people out on the streets, walking into businesses close together. I think people need a reminder.”

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly on Thursday unveiled the state’s reopening plan.