Staff absences plague schools, health care amid COVID surge

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Associated Press

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — 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.