Kansas Gov. Kelly fires back at COVID-19 deniers, orders more testing in senior homes
Reading an emotional letter from a constituent, Gov. Laura Kelly shot back Wednesday at COVID-19 deniers who claim the coronavirus is not a big deal because the death rate is low and mostly among the elderly.
Kelly kicked off her weekly news conference with a letter from a man she identified as Jeffrey, whose mother died in a nursing home the day before Thanksgiving.
“She was 97 and died of COVID-19,” the letter said. “I know that many people will say ‘Your mom was 97, she lived a good long life.’ She did live a long life. Maybe she would have died in the next couple of years in normal times.”
But the letter continued: “I feel like her life should not be so casually swept aside by those who downplay this pandemic.”
He said he visited his mother at least weekly and the loss has been painful despite her advanced age.
“I enjoyed my time I spent with her in her twilight years,” the letter said. “Unfortunately COVID-19 ended our visits and then ended her life.”
“Please, I don’t want my mother to be just another statistic in this deadly year,” the letter concluded.
Kelly pleaded with Kansans to continue using masks, social distancing and getting tested for the coronavirus to try to slow the spread of COVID-19.
She also announced during the news conference that she has issued a new executive order requiring that 473 state-licensed long-term care facilities follow the same testing rules required for federally licensed nursing homes.
Laura Howard, the secretary of aging and disability services, said the biggest change is that most long-term-care workers will now have to undergo twice-weekly tests for coronavirus infection because infection rates are so high across the state.
In counties with low infection rates, workers will need to be tested weekly or monthly.
“You know the virus certainly doesn’t distinguish between a skilled nursing facility and an assisted-living facility, sometimes on the same campus,” Howard said. “And now that we have a broader testing capacity in the state, it’s really a common-sense measure when you think about the impact of COVID on our most vulnerable residents.”
Currently, there are 212 active COVID clusters and 4,900 cases in Kansas long-term care facilities, Howard said. There have been 418 deaths associated with care-home clusters, she said.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 5:13 PM.
