<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1585057767686.png" alt=" Erica Hunzinger / Kansas News Service " />
 <figcaption> Erica Hunzinger / Kansas News Service </figcaption>
 </figure>Editor's note: On Tuesday, Sedgwick County joined five other Kansas counties and issued a stay-at-home order for their 500,000-plus residents to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The emergency order is scheduled to begin on Wednesday and last 30-days.--------By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/post/these-kansas-counties-are-ordering-residents-stay-home#stream/0">Kansas News Service</a>LAWRENCE — Six Kansas counties are ordering 
residents to stay home unless they’re buying groceries, getting health 
care or carrying out other essential tasks.The orders apply in Wyandotte, Johnson, Leavenworth, Douglas, Miami and Doniphan counties. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/282821075751007/videos/142394470500566/" target="_blank">Gov. Laura Kelly said</a> she’s not ready to issue her own statewide shelter-in-place order, but that could change.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1585057846068.jpeg" alt="Six Kansas counties have issued stay-at-home orders. Others are considering them." />
 <figcaption>Six Kansas counties have issued stay-at-home orders. Others are considering them.</figcaption>
 </figure>After all, the state’s latest projections suggest the number of COVID-19 cases could grow five-fold in the next week.“The
 crisis continues to evolve by the hour,” she told reporters on Monday, 
“a statewide stay-at-home order may indeed become unavoidable.”For
 now, Kelly said, she’s limiting all public gatherings statewide to 10 
people — a drop from the 50-person cap she had already set.“We 
are starting to see serious cases in every age group, not just among our
 seniors,” she said. “If we all do our part now, we can get this under 
control much more quickly, which will lead to more lives saved.”Kansas had about <a href="https://www.kcur.org/post/updated-regularly-what-kansans-need-know-about-covid-19-coronavirus#stream/0" target="_blank">80 known cases</a>
 of COVID-19 when she spoke, but health officials expected that number 
to hit between 300 and 400 over the next seven to 10 days.Only a small fraction of the population has been tested. So the true number of Kansans with the virus will be higher.<a href="https://www.kcur.org/post/leaders-throughout-metro-kansas-city-tell-people-stay-home-beginning-tuesday" target="_blank">Wyandotte, Johnson, Leavenworth</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://ldchealth.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=248" target="_blank">Douglas</a>&nbsp;counties
 (and nearby Missouri counties Jackson, Clay and Platte) announced their
 stay-at-home orders over the weekend. Those start Tuesday and run to 
April 24.<a href="https://www.miamicountyks.org/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=Order-of-the-Local-Health-Officer-Stay-a-277" target="_blank">Miami</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dpcountyks.com/documents/public-notices/emergency-public-health-order-requiring-residents-to-stay-at-home-except-for-essential-needs" target="_blank">Doniphan</a>&nbsp;counties
 followed suit. Miami County’s order starts Wednesday and lasts until 
April 23. Doniphan’s starts Thursday and runs through April 6.Sedgwick County commissioners have approved a similar order that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article241433771.html" target="_blank">isn’t finalized yet</a>.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1585057889547.png" alt=" Lawrence's iconic Mass Street bars and restaurants are among the many businesses closed. Credit Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Lawrence's iconic Mass Street bars and restaurants are among the many businesses closed. Credit Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>Health officials have made clear they saw little choice, given that seemingly healthy people are carrying the virus.“There is emerging evidence” from Johnson and other counties “of transmission by pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic people,”&nbsp;<a href="https://ldchealth.org/DocumentCenter/View/2869/DG-Co-Public-Health-Officer-Stay-at-Home-Order-3-22-20" target="_blank">Douglas County’s order says</a>.Even
 with schools and dine-in restaurants already closed, Douglas officials 
worry it’s not enough to prevent a wave of seriously ill people from&nbsp;<a href="http://projects.propublica.org/graphics/covid-hospitals" target="_blank">overwhelming the health system</a>. In that scenario, Kansas hospitals would run out of ventilators and beds for patients, and protective gear for workers.The county’s stay-home order requires many businesses to close, though gas stations, banks&nbsp;<a href="https://ldchealth.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=248" target="_blank">and certain others</a>&nbsp;will stay open.Taking your pet to the vet is okay. Going to a friend’s house for dinner isn’t.Going for a jog is okay, but if you prefer a local gym, you’re out of luck.Douglas
 County said the strategy “is even more important in the context of 
limited testing capacity, as is the case in the Kansas City area.”Johnson
 County was the first Kansas county with confirmed community spread of 
the virus that causes COVID-19. Health officials there have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/post/patients-and-health-experts-argue-against-johnson-county-kansas-scaling-back-covid-19-testing#stream/0" target="_blank">scaled back testing</a>.Kansas
 City area residents and public officials are frustrated with the lack 
of easy testing access, though at least one local clinic has launched&nbsp;<a href="http://www.swbfhc.org/" target="_blank">drive-through testing</a>&nbsp;for patients with doctor referrals or who have first contacted the clinic’s hotline.Last
 Friday, the Kansas health secretary said his agency would likely run 
out of test kits within a day. Over the weekend, 500 more kits arrived, 
which officials hoped would be enough for this week.However, the
 state health department will focus on testing health care workers and 
first responders who have been exposed to COVID-19 or show symptoms.“Spain has about 10% of its cases in health care workers,” he said. “We cannot allow that to happen.”Early testing is part of the state’s strategy to avoid the same trend.<a href="https://khap2.kdhe.state.ks.us/NewsRelease/PDFs/3-23-2020%20Updates.pdf" target="_blank">The state’s other priorities</a>&nbsp;include
 testing patients in situations where a cluster of people all came down 
with COVID-19 symptoms, or involving group settings such as nursing 
homes.People who don’t meet the state health department’s 
criteria can still seek testing through commercial labs by seeing their 
primary care provider.Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on 
consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can 
follow her on Twitter @celia_LJ or email her at celia@kcur.
org.

Update: These Kansas counties are ordering residents to stay home