TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials are looking for extra hospital beds, releasing jail inmates and bracing for a slump in state tax collections as they add farmers’ and ranchers’ springtime practice of burning pastures to the list of things to avoid during the coronavirus pandemic.
With confirmed coronavirus cases having almost quadrupled over the past week, more than 1.7 million of the state’s 2.9 million residents are facing local stay-at-home orders. That’s taking an economic toll, and the state has seen a huge jump in claims of unemployment benefits.
Coronavirus-related developments Thursday in Kansas:
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The state has at least 168 confirmed coronavirus cases, an increase of 42 since Wednesday alone. There have been four deaths since March 11.