By the Associated Press and KFDI News
Employee absences fueled by a surge in COVID-19 cases are straining Kansas hospitals, schools and emergency services and raising questions about whether some court trials might need to be delayed.
In the Wichita school district, more than three times as many students and seven times as many staff members were quarantining after break than in late November.
The situation has led the Kansas State Board of Education to announce that no in-person attendees will be allowed at its meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The number of patients continues to climb at the University of Kansas Hospital, hitting 162 on Monday. On top of that, 850 employees were out over the weekend.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 13,557 new cases on Monday, with 18 new deaths and 52 new hospitalizations. The Delta variant continues to be the predominant strain of the virus, but there are now 250 omicron cases, with at least 18 in Sedgwick County.
Sedgwick County officials reported 925 new cases on Monday, with no new deaths. The positive testing rate has jumped to 19.7 percent. Wichita hospitals are still under a critical status, with 253 patients, 77 of them in intensive care.
