Kansas City reissues indoor mask obligations when hospitals are full of COVID patients | KCUR 89.3

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has said he will issue a new health order on Wednesday requiring a mask indoors, following a new recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC Prompted on Tuesday People who have been completely vaccinated to wear masks indoors in areas where they are believed to have a “substantial” or “high” COVID-19 infection. The agency also recommended that all K-12 school students, teachers and staff wear masks even if they are vaccinated.

“I’ve been sticking to CDC guidance throughout the pandemic, and today it makes no difference,” Lucas said. Tweet Tuesday night. “I will return Kansas City to Maskman Date indoors, based on national and regional health guidance and discussions with other Kansas City leaders.”

Both Kansas City and Jackson County Lifted Their first mask was mandated in May, when COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were on a downward trend nationwide.

However, due to the more contagious delta mutants and the lower vaccination rates in Missouri, these trends have since reversed. Only 41% of Missouri’s population is fully vaccinated, lagging behind the national average of 49%.

As of Monday, the state is currently causing an average of over 2,400 new COVID-19 infections daily, an increase of 77% over the past two weeks.according to New York TimesCurrently, 1,749 Mizurians are hospitalized throughout the state.

new data According to the CDC, all but two counties in Missouri are currently hotspots for COVID-19, with only Scottish counties in the northeastern corner of the state and Pemiscot in boot heels showing “moderate” infection levels. rice field.

“We cannot ignore the rapid spread of the COVID-19 delta mutation in Missouri, which exceeds most of the country,” Lucas said. Continue.. “We will do everything we can to ensure that the corners of this condition are safe.”

Kansas City follows the leadership of St. Louis and St. Louis County. Revived your own Maskman date on Monday.

Jackson County’s New Duty

Jackson County announced on Tuesday a new health obligation requiring all county employees to be vaccinated with COVID-19 or tested weekly. From September 30th, all full-time and part-time staff in Jackson County will be required to present proof of complete vaccination. If not, take the COVID-19 test weekly.

Frank White, an executive at Jackson County, said the requirement was an effort to combat the highly infectious delta variant, which has contributed to the surge in hospitalizations across the region.

“If you look at the percentage of people infected with the virus, the majority are not vaccinated,” White said. “So we make every effort to vaccinate most of our people to keep them safer and their families safer.”

According to White, the 14-day positive rate has tripled since June 6, and the number of cases has quadrupled in eastern Jackson County.

Under the new mission, masks will continue to be required at all buildings and facilities in Jackson County, regardless of vaccination status.

Capacity hospital

Meanwhile, hospitals throughout Missouri are approaching capacity due to the reduced number of staffed beds.

Missouri Hospital Association said in letter For Attorney General Eric Schmidt, they are having a hard time finding enough health care workers to keep up with the recent surge in patients.

According to the association, government agencies impose “very high fees” to supply hospitals, placing greater burdens on rural and smaller hospitals that cannot afford contract work.

Herb B. Kuhn, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Missouri Hospital Association, said:

An official at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City said it had reached its latest capacity. Community health system Raise such concerns.

Dr. Barbara Pahud, Director of Childhood Infectious Diseases Research at Children’s Mercy, is a member of the University of Kansas Health Hospital. Daily updates An increase in children with COVID and other respiratory illnesses is seen.

Dr. Angela Myers, director of the hospital’s pediatric infectious disease department, said the number of patients hospitalized for pediatric diseases such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is increasing rapidly. The virus is usually found only in winter, but Myers said the hospital has admitted more than 20 patients with RSV in the past few weeks.

Mr Myers said the increase in incidents was related to the lack of mask mandates in the region. When pandemic restrictions began last year, she said cases of RSV had disappeared within a week.

“We are open to more people, more people are gathering, more opportunities to be exposed to each other, and children who have not been exposed to these respiratory viruses for more than a year,” said Myers. There is also a young group of. Year. “

Myers recommended that parents protect their young children from COVID and other respiratory illnesses by wearing masks indoors and around other unvaccinated people.

On Monday, Truman Medical Centers / University Health announced that it would require all workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This is the first medical system in the region. All employees must be vaccinated by September 20th.

Most other hospitals in the region have so far refused to mandate vaccines, including the Kansas Children’s Mercy University Health System, Providence Medical Center, Advent Health Shawney Mission, and HCA Midwest Health.