Kansas Coronavirus Story is Hoax

State health officials are trying to get the truth out about a story circulating on social media that there are six coronavirus cases in Wichita. The Centers for Disease Control say there are 15 confirmed cases in seven states but none in Kansas. The same fake story is making the rounds in other states as well.

In other coronavirus news, a Kansas international relations group is raising funds to buy medical goggles for people affected by the coronavirus in China. The group, the Kansas City Chinese American Association, has raised about ten-thousand dollars.

A new study of the coronavirus outbreak shows the elderly and people who are already sick at the greatest risk of being infected. Health workers treating coronavirus patients also are at high risk. The coronavirus has infected more than 70-thousand people but health officials in China say more than 80-percent of those cases have been mild.

Local doctors caution that a bigger threat to Americans’ health is the flu. The flu is reported to be widespread across the country, including Missouri and Kansas. There have been no coronavirus-related deaths in the United States. Flu deaths have surpassed 14,000.