Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are near all-time highs in the Kansas City area, and local hospital leaders say admissions are being pushed over the top by patients coming from rural areas.

Health officials say the availability of health care for people in the Kansas City area is now being threatened by this influx of patient from communities that lack mask mandates.

KCUR talked to Dr. Marc Larsen, an emergency physician and Director of Operations for Saint Luke's COVID Response Team, about the uptick in patients from rural areas.

Read the full KCUR article: Rural coronavirus patients are straining Kansas City hospitals beyond what state data suggests

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