KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A new report, which relies on data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggests that Kansas has plenty of work to do in combating the spread of COVID-19.
Covidexitstrategy.org measures how well each of the 50 states is containing the virus, grouping the states doing well as "Trending Better" and those with "Uncontrolled Spread" as the worst with two stages in between.
Kansas is one of 18 states, mostly in the southeastern or western U.S., currently in the "uncontrolled spread" category.
“More people are having symptoms, more people are being exposed, which indicates there’s more spread,” Janell Friesen, spokesperson with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Public Health Department, said.
Wyandotte County’s problems are indicative of the larger problem Kansas is having getting a grip on the pandemic. Covidexitstrategy's analysis indicates the rate of infection will continue to climb in the Sunflower State.
Despite rising cases in Missouri as well, the Show-Me State remains in the yellow, "Caution Warranted," group, which is the the second-best category.
“We’re seeing a larger demand for testing as we’re seeing the virus spread,” Frisen added, noting that infection rates in July have been the highest for Wyandotte County since testing began in March.
As the Kansas City area moves into its fifth month dealing with the pandemic, health officials know people are weary of the virus and the myriad ways it's disrupted daily life, but ignoring it won't make it go away.
“We know that there’s this fatigue around COVID-19," Friesen said. "It’s very draining for all of us, and it’s annoying to have to wear masks and people just want to get that sense of normalcy back."
Nonetheless, there's more work to do in Wyandotte County before that's possible.
Friesen said the department is closely tracking numbers in the two weeks following the Fourth of July, anticipating the possibility of more spread from gatherings that weekend.
"We’re not at a point to where we’re safe from the spread of the virus yet,” she said.
