The COVID-19 pandemic in Kansas is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Government efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Kansas became highly politicized after Governor Laura Kelly and the state's Republican-led legislature clashed over measures to be taken in reopening the economy and the mandating of masks in late May. The result being that the state-wide reopening order would become a guideline and each county would be allowed to reopen as they see fit. While research has shown a stabilized case rate in counties with a mask mandate, the state-wide mask mandate includes an "opt-out" provision which many counties continue to exercise.