Dr. Garold Minns, Local Health Officer, had a stark message for the Sedgwick County Commission Wednesday.
Hospitals in Wichita and around the state are at crisis level. As of Monday, 209 people are in Sedgwick County hospitals with COVID; 62 are in ICU.
On top of that, hospitals have fewer staff working, thanks to illness and isolation and quarantine measures. Minns said the KU Medical Center has 700 staff members currently out, an increase of 100 from Tuesday.
Minns said we have not reached the peak of the COVID wave, not to mention influenza, which was virtually non-existent last winter. He told the board that mask wearing, social distancing measures and vaccinations can help slow the spread of the virus.
The positivity rate for COVID cases in Sedgwick County has climbed to 15-point-4-percent, with 961 new cases.