Kansas lawmakers test positive for COVID-19, worry about lax safety at Statehouse

TOPEKA — Democrats in the Kansas House are worried about lax health safety protocols, relocated COVID-19 testing, and the confirmed and rumored infections of legislators and staff.

Few lawmakers regularly wear a mask at the Statehouse, despite record-setting numbers of hospitalizations and escalating death totals from COVID-19.

The Kansas Department for Health and Environment on Wednesday reported 128 more deaths from COVID-19, along with 151 hospitalizations and 39,326 cases since Friday.

“Leadership doesn’t seem to care,” said Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita. “They have thrown in the towel on preventing the spread of this disease in the Kansas Legislature, and I fear that within days we’ll have a hard time finding a quorum around this place.”

Read more: https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/19/kansas-lawmakers-test-positive-for-covid-19-worry-about-lax-safety-at-statehouse/