Fellow Residents:
Happy April to everyone. We have had several beautiful days in our City and on occasion that helps to distract from the great challenge facing us all.
C.S. Lewis wrote:
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
That is my theme of the evening.
Three updates for everyone:
- The President Sunday extended social distancing guidelines through April 30th. Frankly, I would be surprised if Governor Kelly did not extend the State’s Stay-at-Home Order until April 30th as well.
- I say this with reluctance, but importance. We have COVID-19 cases in our City. This should surprise no one; the two cases I know of are not “laboratory confirmed.” That said, both of the cases were so clear that the medical professionals felt testing would be a waste and assigned those residents to home quarantine.
- I have talked/messaged with both, and thankfully they are on the way to recovery, but they would uniformly tell you that “mild” is still massively unpleasant. I note this to make a final point.
- Social distancing and the Stay-at-Home Orders are CRITICAL. We have a very real chance in Kansas and the Kansas City Metro to not just “bend the curve” but to have a very different curve than the coasts.
- We took action relatively earlier than the coasts. We don’t have the population density and verticality of the coasts. We may benefit from the natural pattern of viruses struggling through the summer. We also will not escape the very real pain of the next two to three weeks – but we can ameliorate it.
- That said, you can, and must, take action to make a difference – for your personal health, your family’s and the community’s.
- If you are out on a beautiful day, whether walking, golfing or just exchanging pleasantries with neighbors, be mindful of the social distancing rules. Stay six feet away PLEASE. A person carrying COVID-19 is 2x more likely to infect someone than they would with flu, and most of the time you have no idea you are carrying the virus.
Finally, I hope everyone has received the postal letter I wrote Friday. Please encourage your neighbors and friends to sign up for E-News alerts at: http://www.missionhillsks.gov/list.aspx.
As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call City Hall at 913-362-9620 or info@missionhillsks.gov, or email me directly at mayor@missionhillsks.gov.
Be safe and healthy. We can change the ending. Thank you.