Category: COVID-19

COVID cases surge here

Wyandotte County saw an increase of over 1,000 COVID cases from Friday to Monday, while the University of Kansas Health System reported its highest number ever of active COVID inpatients, at 119, on Monday.

There were six COVID deaths reported in Wyandotte County from Friday to Monday, according to the Unified Government’s COVID hub.

At the University of Kansas Health System news conference on Monday morning, Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, said they are now seeing more Omicron cases, especially in the eastern part of Kansas.

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at KU Health, said what they saw in South Africa and in London was a rapid rise of Omicron cases, although it was not as rapid as what is being experienced here now. After a short while, the cases crested and fell. He said what they’re seeing now in New York is a lot of hospitalizations.

Dr. Hawkinson said hospital deaths are holding fairly steady. Dr. Stites said the average age of Omicron cases in South Africa was a full decade less than the United States.

There could be a decrease in the number of cases diagnosed by the end of January or first week of February, according to Dr. Hawkinson.

School starting again, with some not requiring masks, is a concern for the doctors, as the virus may spread more quickly, according to Dr. Hawkinson. Dr. Stites agreed that children need to wear masks in school.

At the news conference, the doctors said that hospitals are adjusting for the surge, and also that businesses are being affected by it.

Hospitals feeling effects of surge

Dr. Stites said they had to cut some surgeries last week at the hospital.

Chris Ruder, chief operating officer of the Kansas City Division of the KU Health System, said everyone is being moved to the direct patient care role. For example, nurses that had formerly worked at the bedside but recently had been in a different role are coming back to bedside care, he said.

This past weekend, more than 850 staff members at KU Health System were out, either isolated because they were positive for COVID or being tested, he said.

The CDC recently reduced the isolation or quarantine period for some employees to five days, and KU Health System’s isolation time has been reduced from 10 to seven days, according to Dr. Stites. In general, those who have COVID are most contagious from one or two days prior to symptoms, to one to two days after, Dr. Hawkinson said.

Dr. Stites said KU Health System employees reflect the Kansas City case numbers that are skyrocketing.

The big picture, Ruder said, is that Omicron is bad as hospitals have filled up with unvaccinated patients, and beds are not available for other patients.

They have started to delay surgeries and procedures to make sure there will be enough staff to attend to the inpatients, according to Dr. Stites.

Some staff members who were out ill last week are expected to start coming back to work this week, according to Ruder.

Businesses hit hard by surge

Joe Reardon, president and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, said businesses also are facing some of the same issues, such as having to adjust for employees who are ill with COVID.

Reardon asked the public to be respectful of businesses, to keep employers and customers safe. Businesses are having to make decisions on whether to require wearing masks at their offices or stores, he said. It is a decision each business has to make individually, he said.

If the spread continues, there will be more notes on the doors saying the business is closed down because they do not have enough staff. This is about keeping businesses open, he said.

Reardon said that in the United States, 80 percent of small businesses have 20 or fewer employees. One absence at a small business sometimes can disrupt the business flow for the day, he added.

COVID, according to Reardon, has exposed all their vulnerabilities. Businesses already were having a hard time getting people into employment before the pandemic, and these issues have to be addressed, he said.

The disruption of the supply chain has affected many businesses, he said. The Omicron variant is resulting in more absenteeism, and people should expect supply chain issues across the spectrum. Recovery is not expected until they slow the spread of the disease.

Some school districts are making the difficult decisions on whether to go virtual again because of high absentees after the holidays, he said. One district had 200 absences, and there are not enough substitutes to deal with that.

Reardon said if the schools go back to virtual learning, one of the parents will have to stay home to take care of the children or they will have to find child care.

But 40 percent of the child care businesses in Kansas City have gone out of business because of COVID, Reardon said. The issue of getting kids to a safe place in order for the parents to go to work is very real, he added.

Drs. Stites and Hawkinson cautioned people to be very careful so they can decrease the curve. They advised people to wear masks in public places and to get vaccinated.

To see more of this discussion, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/1303566346824525.

Vaccines and tests available

Free COVID tests and vaccines are available from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 11, and Wednesday, Jan. 12, at Oak Ridge Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas. The tests are through Vibrant Health. Appointments are not required.

The Unified Government’s Kmart facility at 7836 State is on a new schedule, and is open for testing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.


The Kmart facility is open for free vaccines from noon to 6 p.m. on Fridays. Walk-ins are welcome. For more information, see WycoVaccines.org.


Free COVID vaccines also are available by appointment only at the Health Department building at 6th and Ann Avenue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.


Free COVID testing also is available from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at the Kansas National Guard Armory, 18th and Ridge.


There also are vaccines and tests available at mobile events.


The vaccines.gov website shows some other vaccination sites open in Wyandotte County.

COVID cases surging here

On Monday, KU Health System reported a record of 119 COVID inpatients, an increase of 19 patients from Friday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. The record previously was 115, and it was recorded Dec. 10, 2020. One week ago, the number of active COVID inpatients was 73. Only 11 of the current 119 COVID inpatients are fully vaccinated. Two patients died on Sunday, and the number of deaths in the first 10 days of January was 13. There were 18 COVID patients in the intensive care unit, a decrease of four since Friday. Thirteen patients were on ventilators, an increase of one from Friday. Another 43 patients were hospitalized because of COVID but were out of the acute infection phase, an increase of four since Friday. There was a total of 162 COVID patients at the hospital, an increase of 23 from Friday and 108 more than a week ago.

On Monday, the Unified Government Health Department COVID information website reported 31,097 total cumulative COVID cases, an increase of 1,096 cases since Friday, and a cumulative total of 421 deaths, an increase of six since Friday.

The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID information dashboard on Monday reported 211 daily new hospitalizations in the nine-county Kansas City area.

The state of Kansas on Monday reported a cumulative total of 579,619 COVID cases, with 7,114 deaths. It was an increase of 13,557 cases since Friday, and an increase of 18 deaths since Friday, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment figures.

Kansas doctors praise governor’s ‘bold action’ as COVID-19 infections continue to spike

by Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Kansas medical providers on Friday praised Gov. Laura Kelly for declaring a state of emergency and issuing executive orders to help confront an overwhelming surge in COVID-19 infections.

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer of the University of Kansas Health System, said the governor’s “bold action” will help hospitals address staffing shortages exacerbated by a multitude of breakthrough cases that are preventing staff from treating sick patients. He cautioned, however, that hospitals are prepared for the latest surge to get increasingly worse throughout the month of January.

The hope is that trends in the United States will mirror those in South Africa, where the number of new infections plunged after the country initially saw a dramatic increase in cases from the omicron variant.

“We don’t know that,” Stites said. “That’s just hope. That’s not reality yet. The reality is we’re seeing the highest number of new cases we’ve ever seen. We’re watching hospitalizations spike with the highest number of hospitalizations we’ve seen. What we next have to ask ourselves: What happens to deaths?”

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 37 more deaths from COVID-19 between Wednesday and Friday, along with 97 new hospitalizations and a stunning 16,341 new cases.

Doctors who participated a virtual news conference hosted by KU Health repeatedly pushed back on narratives about the omicron variant producing less serious illness than previous strains of COVID-19. The problem is the omicron variant is far more contagious. Even if you’re half as likely to be hospitalized, Stites said, hospital counts will go up because so many more people are being infected at once.

Sam Antonios, chief clinical officer for the Wichita-based Ascension Via Christi Health, said a small fraction of a large number is still a large number.

“We hope that it ends up being a mild disease, but so far we haven’t seen that,” Antonios said.

Kim Megow, chief medical officer at HCA Midwest Health, which serves the Kansas City metro area, said the emergency declaration is necessary because “hope is not a strategy.” The organization’s modeling and forecasts include a lot of unknowns, Megow said, but indicate the current number of infections and hospitalizations could double before the surge peaks in early February.

“Is that going to be where we go? We don’t know,” Megow said. “It could be better. It could be worse.”

The governor’s executive orders allow hospitals and nursing homes to employ retirees and students to help with a number of tasks, including testing. Kelly has asked the Legislature, which opens a new session on Monday, to pass a law extending those orders through March. Otherwise, her emergency declaration expires in 15 days.

Legislative leaders met Friday to review her orders and offered support for preserving them.

“It seems like these provisions will help our hospitals in this temporary time of need, and we’re all supportive of that,” said House Speaker Ron Ryckman, an Olathe Republican.

During the news conference, Stites stressed the importance of wearing a mask to limit the spread of the virus and keep businesses and schools open. He urged political leaders to have the courage to support the use of masks.

Doctors also continued to encourage residents to get a free, safe and effective vaccine and booster shot. At the KU Health system, just eight of the 100 patients who are actively being treated for COVID-19 are fully vaccinated.

The enemy, Stites said, is not each other.

“The enemy is within, and it’s twofold,” Stites said. “First, it’s the virus, right? Because the virus is the enemy. And the second enemy is dishonesty. Because if we don’t tell the truth, and if we don’t just be open and honest about things, then we can’t have a conversation that allows us to take on the enemy within — SARS-CoV-2.

“So let’s remember that we’re on the same team and the real enemy in the room is this damn virus. And the way to beat it is by taking that seriously, and following the rules of infection control: Wear your mask, keep your distance, don’t go out if you’re sick, get vaccinated. We can win, but we can only win if we can stand together and not stand against each other.”

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/07/kansas-doctors-praise-governors-bold-action-as-covid-19-infections-continue-to-spike/.

Kansas Supreme Court reverses Johnson County judge’s ruling that pandemic law is unconstitutional

The Supreme Court cited a doctrine known as ‘constitutional avoidance,’ which counsels against ruling on the constitutionality of a law if there are other grounds to resolve a case.

by Dan Margolies, KCUR and Kansas News Service

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday overturned a Johnson County judge’s decision that a 2021 Kansas law enacted to address COVID-19 emergency measures is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court, though, made clear it was not expressing an opinion on the constitutionality of the law, Senate Bill 40. Instead, it said Johnson County District Judge David Hauber had overstepped his bounds by ruling on the law’s constitutionality when he’d already ruled that SB 40 was inapplicable.

The Supreme Court cited a doctrine known as “constitutional avoidance,” which counsels against ruling on the constitutionality of a law if there are other grounds to resolve a case.

The Kansas Legislature enacted SB 40 in late 2021 to limit actions taken by the governor, school boards and local health officials. It created systems for speedy legal challenges to health orders and gave state lawmakers more oversight.

Among other things, the law authorized aggrieved parents or students to challenge board of education decisions within 30 days after they are issued. It also imposed timelines on the state’s trial courts to process lawsuits under the law.

In May 2021, two parents of children in the Shawnee Mission School District, Kristin Butler and Scott Bozarth, challenged the district’s mask policy for the just concluding school year. Both represented themselves and both claimed the policy violated federal law, “the ethics of the Nuremberg code” and a parent’s right to decide medical treatment for their child.

Hauber dismissed their suit a few weeks later. He found that the district had enacted its mask policy before SB 40 took effect and therefore it was inapplicable. He also found that Butler’s and Bozarth’s lawsuits were not timely.

But Hauber also took it upon himself to rule on SB 40’s constitutionality. And he found that the law violated the separation of powers doctrine by imposing timelines on court operations and also violated the due process rights of the Shawnee Mission School District.

In reversing Hauber, the Supreme Court, in an opinion written by Justice Dan Biles, acknowledged that its “decision may be just a temporary retreat from a raging storm, but it reflects necessary adherence to a long-standing doctrine of judicial self-restraint known as constitutional self-avoidance.”

“This rule,” Biles wrote, “strongly counsels against courts deciding a case on a constitutional question if it can be resolved in some other fashion, especially when the question concerns the validity of a statute enacted by our coordinate branches of state government.”

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who was invited to intervene in the case and defend SB 40, argued that Hauber’s ruling had created “unnecessary and disruptive confusion” over the state’s emergency powers and urged the Supreme Court to uphold the law.

The case generated an enormous amount of interest, with numerous friends-of-the-court briefs filed by interested parties, including Gov. Laura Kelly, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, Blue Valley School District, Kansas Association of School Boards Legal Assistance Fund, Kansas Justice Institute and a group of parents challenging mask mandates issued by the Olathe and Blue Valley school districts.

The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-01-07/kansas-supreme-court-reverses-johnson-county-judges-ruling-that-pandemic-law-is-unconstitutional.