As of March 20, 2020, Sedgwick County, Kansas has only one known case of COVID-19. In accordance with the Trump Administration's recommendations and with Gov. Kelly's State of Disaster Emergency Declaration, efforts to mitigate the spread of the disease have been implemented: Kansas schools have been closed and many Kansans have begun to practice "social distancing".

However, as made painfully clear in the Imperial College London's March 16 report, these "mitigation efforts" alone are unlikely to halt the spread of COVID-19 (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf). Our hospitals will still be "overwhelmed many times over" despite school closures and social distancing. But there is still hope: a "suppression" approach would buy the time our doctors and nurses need to prepare, and for Sedgwick County to build the infrastructure for wide-spread testing of county residents. Once most residents have been tested, the disease can be isolated, the infected can be quarantined, and those requiring treatment can be saved. Kansas doctors should not be forced to decide who lives and who dies in the future just because drastic steps are inconvenient at present. Once that structure is in place, strict suppression measures may no longer be necessary and life might return to normal far sooner than if we do nothing and wait for a vaccine--which might take over a year.

To protect the half-million residents of Sedgwick County, we urge the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) or the County Health Officer, Dr. Garold Minns, to:

1. issue a stay-at-home order for Sedgwick County residents and
2. order a cessation of nonessential business operations.

K.S.A. § 65-119(a) provides either BOCC or Dr. Minns the authority to issue such an order. Until infrastructure for mass-testing is in place and our healthcare system is adequately prepared, these are the optimal measures for saving lives.

Commissioners Pete Meitzner, Michael O'Donnell, David Dennis, Lacey Cruse, & Jim Howell and Dr. Minns: we know you are under immense pressure and that these circumstances involve a variety of considerations. We ask only that in making your decision you prioritize the physical health and safety of Sedgwick County residents over all else.