<p>by Sarah Thomack</p><p>St. Joseph Post</p><p>Atchison County, Missouri, health officials confirm a resident has tested positive for COVID-19.</p><p>It is the county’s first case. The woman is over 70-years-old, is experiencing mild illness and will follow CDC recommendations for isolation at home.&nbsp;</p><p>According to health officials, she has had very few contacts in Atchison County, but did travel to a high population area.</p><p>The Health Department notes that if you have not been contacted by a county or state health official, then you did not come in contact with this person and you are not at increased risk for this virus.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3D142699493911815%26id%3D110622070452891&width=500" width="500" height="299" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div><p>Missouri health officials say the state has 356 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Wednesday, an increase of 101 from Tuesday. Eight people have died. Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday took several steps in response to the spread of the virus, including asking for a federal disaster declaration that would allow the state to receive federal assistance to help the unemployed and to remove biohazardous materials. The governor also shifted another $11 million from state funds to buy more personal protective equipment.</p><p>In St. Joseph, Mosaic Life Care reports 81 people have been tested and no one has tested positive. Thirty-two tests are pending as of Wednesday evening.</p><p>The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas jumped Wednesday by about 30 in a single day and approached 130 with three COVID-19-related deaths.  State health secretary Lee Norman said he expects the number to approach 400 by the end of March and that makes social distancing and self-isolating important.&nbsp;</p>

Atchison County in Missouri reports first case of COVID-19