By JOHN HANNA
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly on Wednesday directed Kansas state employees to resume working remotely if possible because of the more contagious COVID-19 delta variant.
Click here to view the new guidance.
Kelly’s announcement came after two months of steadily rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases that have stressed hospitals and led some public schools to require masks indoors. Kelly’s directive applies to state agencies under her control; employees must resume remote work by Sept. 3 and continue at least through Oct. 4.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many of the 17,500 workers under Kelly’s direct control would be covered. But in a memo to state agencies, DeAngela Burns-Wallace, head of the state Department of Administration, said any employee who was able to work remotely earlier should do it again.
Many state employees spent more than a year working remotely because of the pandemic, with normal operations resuming in June — just 10 days before new COVID-19 cases began to rise again.
“The decision to return to remote work was not made lightly — but we know that this is a necessary step to prevent COVID-19 infections,” Kelly said in a statement.
Kelly also tightened a requirement that employees and visitors wear masks inside state government buildings, imposing the rule in all 105 counties rather than exempting a handful with a low COVID-19 spread.
Kansas averaged 37 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, 11 additional deaths and 1,276 new cases overall a day for the seven days ending Wednesday, according to state health department data. Delta variant cases have been confirmed in all but eight counties.
The largest hospital in northeast Kansas, Stormont Vail in Topeka, recently brought a mobile morgue on-site.
“We wanted to be prepared for where the numbers are trending,” spokesperson Cody Tenbrink said in an email.
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TOPEKA – In response to the continued spread of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, Governor Laura Kelly today released new guidance directing state agencies under the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch to resume remote work operations where possible.
Click here to view the new guidance.
"Since the start of the pandemic, my administration has followed the best public health guidance to keep our communities safe, mitigate the spread of the virus, and reduce strain on hospitals," Governor Kelly said. "The decision to return to remote work was not made lightly - but we know that this is a necessary step to prevent COVID-19 infections. I am confident that our state employees will continue to provide quality services to all Kansans who need them."
The remote work model will remain in place through October 4th. At that time, a re-assessment of current COVID-19 infection rates will determine when state employees can return to fully on-site work.
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, state agency operations shifted to remote work for employees whose job functions could be performed remotely. In June, after a significant reduction in daily COVID-19 infections, state employees began returning to state office buildings.
As infection numbers began to rise again throughout the summer, a transition to remote work will help control the spread of the virus among state employees. Onsite staffing will be limited to only those necessary to safely conduct agency operations.
Mask requirements, social distancing and other mitigation measures will remain in place for employees whose jobs must be performed on-site. Public offices serving customers will be encouraged to re-institute mitigation measures that were previously utilized during the pandemic, such as scheduling “by appointment only” or making allowances for virtual as opposed to in-person interactions. All such measures will be carried out in a way as to have as minimal an impact or inconvenience on customers.