Variants increase in Kansas as parents challenge mask rules April 20, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The number of coronavirus variants in Kansas has risen sharply, even as parents in some schools push to drop masking requirements and vaccine appointments go unfilled. In the past week, the state had a 32% increase in the total number of confirmed variant coronavirus cases as all five variants of concern have now been identified in the state, The Wichita Eagle reports. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 175 total variant cases on Monday, up from 133 one week ago. Most of the increase was due to 35 new cases of the variant strain first identified in the United Kingdom.