*************************************
The omicron variant has been detected in the Kansas City metro area, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said on Friday. DHSS, which has partnered with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the University of Missouri – Columbia, identified the latest COVID-19 variant of concern in wastewater samples. The first sample was collected Dec. 7 from the wastewater treatment facility in Little Blue Valley Sewer District, just east of of Raytown. The second, collected Dec. 8, was found in St. Joseph wastewater treatment facility sewershed in Buchanan County, according to a DHSS release.” Kansas City Star

*************************************

Kansas City hospitals are full again, omicron has arrived and doctors are begging for your help. Area hospitals are struggling daily to find enough nurses and scrambling to recruit health care workers from other countries.” Kansas City Star

*************************************

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Thousands of Missouri parents and students emailed the state attorney general’s office about concerns over mask mandates and other COVID-19 protocols, according to Eric Schmitt. Last week, Missouri’s attorney general asked parents to report school districts that were enforcing mask mandates. He asked concerns to be sent to an email after a Cole County judge ruled that public health orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic are unconstitutional. Schmitt said more than 7,500 emails from concerned parents and students were sent to his office in a week. According to the AG, a majority were from parents and students opposed to mask mandates and quarantine orders. Schmitt sent 52 cease and desist letters to school districts across the state, including multiple districts in the Kansas City area. Each letter was sent because of a complaint from someone involved with the district Schmitt said." NPR

*************************************

“Kansas City, Kansas, ends its mask mandate early despite growing COVID-19 cases. Despite pleas from public health experts, elected officials in Kansas City, Kansas, decided Thursday night to end the city's mask mandate early. It's the latest municipality in the metropolitan area to repeal the requirement that people wear masks in indoor public places. Kansas City, Missouri, no longer requires masks, while Johnson County, Kansas, recommends masks but doesn’t require it.

“Juliann Van Liew, the public health director for the Unified Government, said fewer than half of residents in Kansas City, Kansas, were fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, the omicron variant of COVID-19 was officially recorded in Kansas on Thursday. Research indicates that the omicron variant is more transmissible than earlier variants of COVID-19. ‘We are seeing a dramatic rise in cases, not just in Wyandotte County, but across the metro,’ Van Liew said. ‘We are concerned.’” NPR

*************************************

“KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City metro is in the middle of another COVID-19 surge and soon there won’t be enough hospital beds or staff to handle what’s coming our way. That’s the warning from leaders of hospitals in the Kansas City area. They say it doesn’t matter which hospital it is, resources are being stretched and doctors and nurses are struggling to keep up with demand. Leaders at all of the Kansas City-area hospitals say these numbers do not include the omicron variant. They expect Omicron to sweep the area soon with omicron being much more transmittable.

“Omicron is at our doorstep. This is a tornado warning to our community,” said Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System. “The timing of omicron’s arrival is going to be problematic because mask mandates have expired, everyone is going inside because it’s colder, and seasonal viruses like the flu and RSV are hitting at the same time. FOX 4 News

*************************************

“Health experts warned that it’s no longer good enough to be fully vaccinated. If you are eligible, you also need to get a booster as soon as possible.” FOX 4 News

*************************************