Kansas City is now at ‘low-risk’ levels for COVID. What does that mean?
The omicron wave seems to have passed, as COVID cases in Kansas City and nationwide continue to fall. With that in mind, the Center for Disease Prevention and Control has loosened some of its guidelines for precautions you should take to avoid COVID-19.
The CDC splits communities into three different categories, with each category having different recommendations for how to deal with COVID-19. With any level of risk, the CDC is still recommending that people stay up to date with vaccines and that they get tested if they feel sick.
The three categories are low, medium and high risk. Each category’s recommendations are as follows:
Low risk: Masks aren’t recommended as necessary in most situations.
Medium risk: The CDC says that you should talk to a doctor about wearing a mask if you’re at a higher risk of getting sick from COVID-19.
High risk: The CDC recommends that you wear a mask in indoor public settings.
The CDC is looking at three key data points to determine the risk level and its guidance for if you need a mask:
Hospital capacity
New COVID-19 cases
New COVID-19 hospitalizations
Where does Kansas City fall? These are the most current CDC risk rankings as of March 17. Nearly every county in the metro is at low risk levels, except Wyandotte County, which is still deemed high risk.
JACKSON COUNTY
The county, which includes Kansas City, is now at low risk. It was recently at medium risk.
CASS COUNTY
The community level is at low risk, according to the CDC.
CLAY COUNTY
The community level is at low risk, according to the CDC.
PLATTE COUNTY
The community level is at low risk, according to the CDC.
JOHNSON COUNTY
The community level is at low risk, according to the CDC.
WYANDOTTE COUNTY
The county is at a high risk level, meaning masks are recommended in indoor public settings.
Here are the full guidelines, including recommendations if you are immunocompromised.
Do you have other questions? Ask us at kcq@kcstar.com or with the form below.
