TOPEKA — Republican Rep. John Eplee wishes he could turn the clock back 10 months and beg for national guidance on a pandemic that has killed more than 1,100 Kansans and threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
Eplee, a family physician at Amberwell Health hospital in Atchison, says he is “just trying to survive” until he can get a COVID-19 vaccine.
“If I could do one thing,” he said, “I would develop a time machine, go back, get national guidance, get a strong mask recommendation for the entire United States and, honestly, have public figures that would wear masks and strongly encourage everyone to wear a mask to save us from this terrible, invisible enemy.”
Federal guidance now scrutinizes the state’s handling of the pandemic, warns of potential shortages in medical supplies, and pushes for better enforcement of health orders, including the wearing of masks.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, delivers weekly reports on each state, assessing the severity of community transmission and providing recommendations for action by state and local leaders. Pence briefed governors on Monday on COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.
For weeks, Kansas has been in the “red zone” because of high numbers of new cases and a high positivity rate for tests. This week’s assessment: “There is exponential and unyielding spread across the state.”
This week’s report reflects numbers from Nov. 7-13. It shows the rate of new cases per 100,000 people in Kansas was 619, more than twice the national average of 294. The positivity rate among lab tests here was 22.9%, the fifth-highest in the nation. At least 50% of nursing homes have at least one positive staff member.
The death rate in Kansas was 3.1 per 100,000 people, compared to the national rate of 2.3.
During a briefing Tuesday with medical providers, Kansas Department of Health and Environment secretary Lee Norman attributed some of the worsening situation to household gatherings.
“It used to be more in the aforementioned prisons and nursing homes, but now it’s communitywide in every community,” Norman said. “That’s what’s really driving these numbers.”
Residents of the 84 Kansas counties that are in the “red zone” are advised in the White House report to avoid gathering outside their home until conditions improve.
The report also suggests cancellation of school sports and the recruitment of “local influencers” who can help deliver the message about the need to wear a mask in public and social distance.
Gov. Laura Kelly proposed a statewide mask mandate in early July, but a compromise with Republican leaders in the Legislature during the special session in June allowed counties to opt out of her order. Just 25 counties accepted her recommendation in the first few weeks, but that number has grown to 39 as community transmission of the virus impacts more rural areas.
“No. 1, they need to help themselves,” Norman said of the state’s rural residents. “I think they’ve been very slow to come aboard with the anticontagion measures that we know work.”
The White House report calls for improved enforcement of mask mandates, which falls upon local law enforcement agencies.
Eplee said the mandates are a “toothless tiger” because “the enforcement piece is just not there.” He said it was critical that health professionals like himself help spread the word through their communities that mask wearing is essential and vaccines currently in development will be safe and effective.
