Lyon County Public Health continues its adjustments from COVID-19 pandemic operations to what is being referred to as “steady-state” operations.
With low caseloads for the past few weeks, Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern says Public Health has been shifting away from large-scale disease investigation efforts, as well as isolation and quarantine as virus control methods. Millbern says the recommendations will remain the same — mask use, social distancing and vaccinations leading the way — but future caseload spikes will see more of that emphasis on personal responsibility to reduce spread.
Future caseload spikes are possible, and another increase is a concern with the omicron BA.2 variant now in the United States but not in Kansas at this time. Millbern says the new variant is even more transmissible than the original omicron version, which led to record daily and weekly caseloads and also stressed healthcare facilities, with patient bed space either at maximum or near-maximum levels and Newman Regional Health seeing an urgent need for ventilators.
Millbern says a lot of Americans have developed an immunity, either from vaccines or prior infections, so she’s hoping any caseload increases won’t resemble what Lyon County dealt with in January. She also says this is a good time to get vaccinated, either starting the process or going all the way to getting booster shots.
