Overwhelmed by COVID caseloads, Kansas health officials are shifting the responsibility of monitoring the virus’ spread to the general public.
As of Feb. 1, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will cease contact tracing, a program that sought to notify and monitor those exposed to the virus.
For those who now test positive, it will be up to them to notify their workplaces, churches, schools and close circles of their infection.
“The responsibility of protecting yourself and others belongs to all of us,” said Janet Stanek, acting secretary of KDHE in a press release.
Public resistance also factored into KDHE’s decision to cease contact tracinge. From the get-go a vocal minority viewed it as government overreach and harassed public health workers for doing their job.
“We are not finding that the public is as willing to share information, so efforts relating to contact tracing end up being a little futile at this point,” Stanek told members of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday.
In any case, health officials say the task is simply not feasible. Over five days last week the state recorded more than 40,000 new cases, a record. Our total is now 621,273.
FOR SCHOOLS, suspension of contact tracing begins immediately.
On Tuesday, school officials were notified they can pause tracking the spread of the virus for the next 30 days.
“We understand the immense pressure you are facing to deliver quality education in light of the current Omicron surge,” stated Sec. Stanek and Education Commissioner Randy Watson in a letter. “We are hoping to temporarily relieve one pressure point, specifically the identification of susceptible close contacts who were exposed to COVID-19 in K-12 school settings.”
To be clear, Stanek and Watson are not suggesting that schools stop contact tracing, but that the state won’t be of any help.
“For school districts that are able to maintain their current process for identification of close contacts, we encourage you to continue doing so as this is an important tool to help control school-based transmission of COVID-19,” they wrote.
Stacey Fager, superintendent of USD 257 schools, said the change will not affect local procedures.
“We will continue to determine close contacts to active cases in our school buildings, and give parent(s) the option to have their child tested if a close contact occurred,” Fager said.
The district’s policy allows students exposed to the virus in a school setting to continue at school as long as they wear a face mask and undergo daily testing for a specified period.
