WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Officials in some Kansas communities are battling a rise in COVID-19 cases by mandating masks for kids, issuing emergency orders and requiring vaccines.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Kansas has risen over the past two weeks from 605.14 new cases per day on Aug. 3 to 797.14 new cases per day on Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
In the Lawrence area, Douglas County leaders approved a health order Wednesday that will require children ages 2 to 12 to wear masks while in indoor public spaces. The decision followed four hours of public comment that included jeering and interruptions from a largely maskless crowd, the Lawrence Journal-World reports.
Douglas County’s health officer, Dr. Thomas Marcellino was momentarily drowned out by laughter and heckling from the crowd when he tried to explain the reasoning for the order. One person called him a liar and disgusting, and some in the crowd started chanting “no more masks.”
One public commenter even compared maskless children being excluded from activities to racial segregation.
There are various exceptions to the proposed order, including youth with a medical condition, mental health condition or disability that prevents wearing a face covering.
In the Wichita area, hospital status was changed to critical Wednesday, as about 150 COVID-19 patients fill beds there, The Wichita Eagle reports.
Amid the increase, Sedgwick County health officer Dr. Garold Minns is considering proposing that masks be worn again. He said he should reach a decision before the end of the week, although the Sedgwick County Commission will have the final say on any mask mandate.
In the Topeka area, Shawnee County is once again under a state of disaster emergency regarding COVID-19, The Topeka Capital-Journal reports.
“This is projected to get worse, so in order to not let it get worse, we need to do some mitigation strategies,” said Dusty Nichols, the county’s COVID-19 incident commander.
He said the declaration’s issuance puts state officials on notice that Shawnee County is “maxed out on resources” in terms of dealing with COVID and might ask them for help. The declaration also sends a message to the public that local hospitals are running low on resources necessary to deal with COVID, Nichols said.
“I’m hoping that people kind of start paying attention to our resource shortages,” he said. “The reason we’re at this level is because mitigation strategies are not working, or they would work if people would follow them.”
In the Hutchinson area, cases also were rising, with 70% of staff out in the treasury and tag departments, according to Reno County treasurer Brenda Kowitz. The Hutchinson News reported that hours have been reduced to address the staffing issues.
Meanwhile, employees of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, will be required to either receive the COVID-19 vaccine or take weekly tests under a new policy that takes effect Sept. 6.
“The Unified Government provides critical services for the community, and we must ensure that we have a workforce that is capable of providing the services upon which the public depends,” Unified Government County Administrator Doug Bach said in a news release.
