As omicron spreads ahead of holidays, no new precautions being taken in the KC metro
No new mask mandates or COVID-19 restrictions are planned across the Kansas City metro ahead of the busy Christmas and New Year holidays, even as the highly contagious omicron variant raises new concerns.
On both sides of the state line, health officials are monitoring rising case counts and hospitalizations — now at their highest levels since cases of the delta variant surged this summer.
Last week, Kansas’ health department announced the first confirmed cases of the omicron variant in the metro area in two fully vaccinated Wyandotte County residents. Earlier this month Missouri health officials confirmed the first omicron case in St. Louis and have since detected the variant in wastewater samples taken near Raytown and in St. Joseph.
But the growing alarm over the omicron variant has not prompted local officials to implement new COVID mitigation efforts, such as reinstating indoor mask mandates that studies have shown to be an effective way to slow the spread of the virus and potentially save lives.
“There are no discussions in place on any kind of policy or any changes at this moment,” said Cheryl Nash, a spokeswoman for Lee’s Summit city government. The Kansas City mayor’s office told The Star that officials are monitoring the virus, but did not share any specific plans to reinstate mask mandates or other safety measures.
“As we have done throughout the COVID-19 crisis, we will collaborate with and trust our public health community and hospital leaders to increase vaccination and disease mitigation efforts in the Kansas City region,” said Morgan Said, chief of staff for Mayor Quinton Lucas.
Johnson County Department of Health and Environment director Dr. Sanmi Areola said that Kansas officials are also monitoring the situation, but do not have plans to implement new mandates.
“JCDHE is not aware of any plans for a community wide mandate,” Areola said in a statement. “Data and appropriate recommendations are constantly discussed with elected officials and policy makers so they can make informed decisions.”
Most municipalities across Johnson County are following suit, with officials throughout Overland Park, Olathe and Lenexa confirming this week they are not considering any new mandates or restrictions unless guidance from the county health department changes.
In Roeland Park, a proposal to reinstate an indoor mask mandate this week failed after a tie vote at the city council’s meeting Monday night. The city’s previous mask mandate was allowed to expire in November and the new ordinance would have allowed the city to levy fines against individuals or businesses not complying with indoor masking requirements.
The council instead passed a resolution encouraging — but not requiring — indoor masking in light of the omicron variant and agreed to allocate $10,000 for staff to purchase at-home COVID tests to distribute to residents and to expand outreach and education materials, assistant city administrator Erin Winn said.
“With omicron, we want to make sure we’re proactive in our response,” Winn said.
Last week, Edgerton city officials reinstated their requirement for employees in city buildings to wear masks indoors, spokeswoman Kara Banks said. That mandate had expired this spring as widespread vaccinations began and the rate of new cases began to fall, but the latest surge and looming threat of the omicron variant’s spread prompted administrators to reinstate the employee requirement. Indoor masks are recommended but not required elsewhere in town.
Overland Park officials also are having internal conversations regarding staff requirements and procedures, but do not have any requirements to wear masks indoors, for either the public or staff, spokeswoman Meg Ralph said. The city is following the guidance issued by the county health department and has no immediate changes planned, but city manager Bill Ebel meets regularly with a team of hospital, public health and local government experts pulled together by the Mid-America Regional Council.
“At this time, there’s no plan to change anything but we’ll be keeping an eye on the daily COVID snapshot from that group and will adjust if needed,” Ralph said.
Last week, Wyandotte County commissioners voted to end their indoor mask mandate and the Jackson County legislature voted 5-4 against reinstating its previous mask mandate.
The omicron variant is now 30% of new COVID cases in the four-state region of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as both new cases and hospitalizations across the metro rise to their highest levels since the end of the summer.
On Tuesday, Dec. 21, the Kansas City metro saw the highest 7-day average of new daily COVID-19 cases since January with an average of 844 new cases added daily.
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 12:37 PM.
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