Kansas now has the coronavirus omicron variant, and it’s not that far from the KVOE listening area.
KDHE confirmed the first lab-confirmed case of the omicron variant in Kansas — a vaccinated adult in Franklin County who has not received a booster dose. Omicron was declared a variant of concern shortly after its discovery during the Thanksgiving weekend because of its number of mutations, which makes the strain readily transmissible from person to person even if they have had a primary dosage set. Lyon County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern was on KVOE’s Newsmaker segment Thursday with an update:
Besides vaccinations, KDHE also suggests residents wear masks, social distance and get tested if they are sick or have been a close contact with a COVID patient.
Meanwhile, Lyon County continues dealing with the delta variant, and Public Health is concerned about COVID trends closely resembling those of Christmas 2020. New weekly cases have been around 160 cases or more the past few weeks, and active cases have spiked above 220 this week after approaching 190 at the end of last week. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment now has Lyon County with over 6,250 cases, slightly ahead of last Friday’s report from Lyon County of just over 6,200, and Friday’s numbers may not be identical from the departments because of information lag.
Millbern says the heaviest caseloads have been in people under 30, although elderly residents developing COVID are typically not vaccinated. She urges residents to get vaccinated, and she says there has been an increase in vaccinations since around Halloween for several reasons — the presence of boosters, the expanded age range to include children ages 5-11 and previously unvaccinated residents deciding to get shots.
