TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas has surpassed 1,000 deaths due to COVID-19.

In honor of the lives lost and the families they left behind, Governor Laura Kelly has directed that flags be lowered to half-staff throughout the state effective immediately to sundown, Friday, October 30, 2020.

“It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of 1,007 Kansans who lost their lives to COVID-19,” Kelly said. “One of the many terrible impacts of this virus has been that families are unable to hold in-person services to mourn the passing of their loved ones. Each one of these Kansans was someone’s child, parent, or grandparent. They were part of a community. Today, I’m directing that flags be lowered to half-staff, so that we may honor and remember them.”

Since March, Kansas has reported 8,042 total cases as of Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Kelly and top Republican legislators agreed to try for now to encourage Kansas counties to adopt local mask mandates rather than consider a statewide rule as the state experiences its biggest surge in new coronavirus cases of the pandemic.

Kelly had a private Zoom meeting with eight leaders of the GOP-controlled Legislature, six of them Republicans, and participants said afterward that they discussed encouraging greater mask use.

Kelly issued a statewide mask mandate July 2, but a state law enacted only the month before allowed the state’s 105 counties to opt out, and most did. The Democratic governor said last week that she wanted to work with top Republican lawmakers on a bipartisan mandate to require people to wear masks in public.

For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as a fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The majority of people recover.