TOPEKA — Kansas medical providers on Friday praised Gov. Laura Kelly for declaring a state of emergency and issuing executive orders to help confront an overwhelming surge in COVID-19 infections.
Steve Stites, chief medical officer of the University of Kansas Health System, said the governor’s “bold action” will help hospitals address staffing shortages exacerbated by a multitude of breakthrough cases that are preventing staff from treating sick patients. He cautioned, however, that hospitals are prepared for the latest surge to get increasingly worse throughout the month of January.
The hope is that trends in the United States will mirror those in South Africa, where the number of new infections plunged after the country initially saw a dramatic increase in cases from the omicron variant.