John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
US Totals: Infections 61,558,085

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“Over 1 ½ Million new COVID cases were added on Monday.” CNN
It’s still a mix of Delta and Omicron.

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“KANSAS CITY METRO (KCTV) -- Kansas City area hospitals are seeing more COVID-19 patients than they have at any other time in the pandemic. Local hospitals regularly report numbers that end up compiled into a COVID dashboard database by Mid-America Regional Council. Those numbers paint a picture of Kansas City metro that is seeing an all time high in both COVID hospitalizations and cases, Daily new cases continue to be at an all-time high. The Kansas City area is seeing an average of 2,033 new COVID cases a day”. Kansas City is a midsized city.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri's attorney general says he has filed another lawsuit against St. Louis County's latest mask mandate. It was after the county council approved a new order on January 5th to issue a mask mandate for the county with sharply rising COVID infections & hospitalizations and overwhelmed hospitals.

“Kansas City reinstated mask mandate for K-12 schools amid COVID surge. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office immediately pledged to amend an existing lawsuit to halt Kansas City’s ordinance. Schmitt’s spokesperson called the mask mandate ‘illegal’ and said the office would amend its existing lawsuit ‘to halt their latest attempt at imposing a mask mandate. Further, masks do little to control the spread of COVID-19 and can harm critical development in children.’”

“Kansas City Mayor Lucas called Schmitt’s lawsuits “counterproductive” and ‘anti-public health.’ He said they ‘fundamentally undermine everyone who is working hard to keep young people, old people, everyone in Missouri safe.’
The Missouri Independent

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“KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The number of people hospitalized with COVID hit a new high at the University of Kansas Health System Monday morning. The story can be told at many hospitals across the country, but it’s not just the number of hospitalizations that is causing the crisis. It’s also the number of hospital employees who are out sick, either quarantining due to COVID, or for other illnesses.” Fox News

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“'Missouri was the first state to file suit against the Biden Administration’s private employer vaccine mandate and health care worker vaccine mandate. In Missouri, we were the first to obtain an injunction halting the health care worker vaccine mandate,' said Attorney General Schmitt. 'My Office will never back down.'” News - Missouri Attorney General - Mo.gov

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"COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Republican attorney general, Eric Schmitt, sued China over the coronavirus. He signed on to a failed lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Now, as he positions himself for a Senate run, he’s turning his attention closer to home and suing to stop mask mandates in the state's liberal cities and Missouri schools."

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Meanwhile, COVID cases are surging, and hospitals are being stressed to the breaking point.
Politics and the health welfare of everyday citizens during a pandemic don't seem to mix.
The public become the losers when all attempts to mitigate the virus are taken away.