Kansas House speaker was hospitalized for COVID-19. Governor criticizes what he did next

Kansas House Speaker Ron Ryckman disclosed Thursday he had been hospitalized for the coronavirus, prompting Gov. Laura Kelly to criticize his decision to attend a July meeting where Kelly and other officials were present without revealing his diagnosis.

Ryckman, an Olathe Republican, is the highest-ranking Kansas official known to have caught the virus. He worked with other lawmakers to craft a compromise with the Democratic governor in June that limited her power over the summer to close businesses and limit mass gatherings to slow the spread of the virus.

Ryckman told GOP lawmakers in an email Thursday afternoon that he had previously been hospitalized, but was recovering. In a brief interview, Ryckman said he tested positive for COVID-19 the week of July 13 and was admitted to the hospital a few days later. He said he was hospitalized for a week before being discharged.

“I was hospitalized, have followed doctor’s orders, and self-isolated during that time,” Ryckman wrote. “I am now past what doctors consider the contagious stage and am on the road to recovery.”

Ryckman attended a State Finance Council meeting on July 29 at the Statehouse, which Kelly chaired. Since the pandemic began, council meetings are typically held in the Old Supreme Court Room, the largest committee room in the building, and members sit several feet apart.

“Speaker Ryckman’s decision to attend the State Finance Council meeting after being released from the hospital, while concealing his diagnosis from those of us in the room and taking his mask off, was reckless and dangerous,” Kelly said in a statement.

“As elected officials, we have a unique responsibility to set the right example for the people of Kansas, and to follow the commonsense guidance from medical experts. While I’m dismayed by his actions, I wish Speaker Ryckman good health and I’m glad he’s on the road to recovery.”

The governor’s office said Kelly hasn’t been tested for COVID-19 since the meeting and the Associated Press reported she planned to get tested soon. Ryckman’s hospitalization was first reported Thursday by The Sunflower State Journal.

Ryckman said in the interview he had tested negative for COVID-19 before attending the meeting and was cleared by a doctor. Ryckman said he followed health guidelines and was socially distanced. In a written statement Thursday night, he called Kelly’s reaction “fear mongering and public shaming.”

“Always knew it was serious. I don’t think you ever think that you’re going to catch it. You’re obviously worried about your family and your parents catching it,” Ryckman said of having the disease.

Ryckman said in response to Kelly’s criticism that he understands “the unknowns around Covid make people uncomfortable, that’s why I listened to my doctor for my medical care and clearance before ending isolation.”

Ryckman pointed to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment website, which says an individual with a confirmed case can leave isolation 10 days from the onset of symptoms or 72 hours after fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine and there has been a significant improvement in symptoms -- whichever is longer. He said he had isolated for 16 days after the start of symptoms.

Ryckman wrote in his email to GOP lawmakers that his family tested negative. He wrote that while his experience had slowed down life in his house for several weeks “it has not slowed my determination to help move our state forward with you.”

Ryckman and other top Republicans struck a deal with Kelly in June on her pandemic emergency powers. The compromise prevents her from shutting down businesses or limiting gatherings until mid-September and it allows counties to opt out of statewide public health orders. Many counties opted out of Kelly’s mask mandate last month.

“Until there is a better way to fight this infection, we must continue to look out for each other and all of the ways our state and our families are affected by this pandemic. This means protecting individual freedoms, re-opening our economy and protecting the health of our communities,” Ryckman wrote in the email.

This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 7:51 PM.