Sedgwick County issues stay-at-home order

On Tuesday, Sedgwick County became the sixth in Kansas to order residents to stay at home except for essential business, such as to buy food or seek medical care.  The orders mean more than half of the state’s 2.9 million residents are under stay-at-home orders.  The other counties are Johnson County, three other neighboring counties in or touching the Kansas City area, and Douglas County.

Sedgwick County announced Tuesday that it is imposing a similar order starting at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday for at least 30 days.  Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple thanked Sedgwick County officials for taking a step that he said might not be politically popular but is the right thing to do. He compared the virus outbreak to dealing with severe weather.

“We have a storm coming, we need to bunker down right now and make sure we are keeping ourselves safe,” Whipple said.  We’re going to get through this and be better. But for right now, this storm is coming.”

A seventh county, Doniphan County in the state’s northeast corner, also was imposing a stay-at-home order starting Thursday and lasting through April 6.

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