Kansas is experiencing a temporary shortage of healthcare staff. Charles Martinez, Interim Director of the Geary County Health Department, noted on Friday that Governor Kelly has declared a state of emergency due to the situation. Geary County's health system is currently operating in contingency staffing and in danger of moving to crisis staffing.
COVID-19 patients have increased since the holidays. The new Omicron variant is more transmissible than Delta but the symptoms experienced are less severe. The number of patient needing care has placed a strain on resources. Martinez said to relieve the health system' pressure, we need to slow the pace at which COVID-19 is spreading. That can be achieved by three steps.
--Get vaccinated if you are eligible.
--Wear your mask
--Get tested if you have COVID-19 symptoms after a known or suspected exposure.
Martinez said it's expected by the end of January we should start to see a decline in the number of COVID-19 patients, with the second wave of holiday patients recovering. That will bring staff back into the system and beds will begin opening again.