Kansas confirms first case of omicron variant of COVID-19 in the state
The first case of the omicron variant in Kansas has been identified, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Thursday.
The person who tested positive is an adult from Franklin County, southwest of Johnson County, who has been fully vaccinated but has not received their booster shot, according to Matt Lara, a KDHE spokesman. The variant was confirmed through a state lab.
The KDHE said it would not release any additional information, citing privacy concerns.
“The detection of the variant does not come as a surprise,” Janet Stanek, acting secretary of KDHE, said in a news release. “This virus is highly infectious and transmittable. We must do our part to protect ourselves and those around us by using the tools available to us.”
The first case of the omicron variant comes a day after the KDHE said the first case was already “very likely” in Kansas. The omicron variant had been detected in bordering states — including Missouri on Dec. 3 — in the last few weeks.
While speaking to reporters Wednesday, Gov. Laura Kelly said an omicron case wouldn’t change the state’s response.
“I think KDHE is doing good work that they’ve been doing for the last nearly two years on this,” Kelly said. “Even if we know it won’t change the approach. The approach will be the same with all the public health safety protocols in place and really encouraging people to get vaccinated or get boosted.”
The first omicron case in Kansas comes as hospitalizations, cases and deaths have been increasing over the last few weeks.
Average new cases per day in Kansas have increased 61% in the past two weeks, while hospitalizations have increased 26% and deaths have increased 155%, according to the New York Times.
On Thursday, officials at the University of Kansas Health System reported that 58% of Kansans had received at least one dose. There were 71 people hospitalized for COVID-19 at the KU Health System Thursday, up from 64 on Wednesday.
Of the 71, 45 were active cases and 41 of the active cases were for unvaccinated patients. Others were out of the active infection stage but still required treatment.
Now that the first omicron case has been confirmed in Kansas, public health officials continue to call for people to get vaccinated and also get booster shots.
A little over 58% of Kansans had received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to KDHE. A little over 50% had been fully vaccinated.
This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Kansas confirms first case of omicron variant of COVID-19 in the state."
