Governor Laura Kelly has unveiled the framework for Kansas’ new unified COVID-19 testing strategy.
The governor went into greater detail on the effort during her weekly press conference Wednesday afternoon. According to Kelly, over the last four weeks, Dr. Marci Nielsen and KDHE have been working to develop the strategy in a way that best fits the state.
Kelly says local and state departments have mainly focused their efforts on testing only symptomatic individuals or in areas where outbreaks are occurring since the onset of the pandemic. She says if we are to keep Kansans safe, we must do more.
The governor would go on to state this would increase the amount of testing from around 600,000 COVID tests to date to over one million before the year is out. Kelly says the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will work with private sector partners to expand labs and supplies, enhance data and reporting, provide support for isolation and quarantining for positive patients and increase public communications regarding control for virus spread.
Governor Kelly also laid out plans for testing and observation strategies for populations based on their level of risk.
The governor’s press conference came a day after her meeting with Republican Legislative leaders to discuss their support in convening a special session to issue emergency legislation for the issuance of a state-wide mask mandate. Kelly made this request with the hope leaders would grant her the authority to issue the mandate.
In response, Republican leaders asked if Kelly would first meet with local leaders to discuss the possibility of developing their own mask requirements. Kelly says she agreed to the request on the condition that Republicans join her in the effort and move forward as quickly as possible.
Kelly says if she and leaders are unable to convince local leaders to implement mask mandates, she will have no choice but to move expeditiously to find another course of action for instituting universal mask usage.
The governor is scheduled to hold her next weekly briefing Wednesday at 4 pm.
