Coronavirus updates: 7 more deaths in Kansas, Sedgwick County adds 4 new COVID-19 cases
Here is the Wichita-area news to know on the coronavirus pandemic for Wednesday, April 15. For updates from Tuesday, click here.
New Kansas coronavirus numbers
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reports 1,494 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, 209 of which are in Sedgwick County.
The death count is at 76. Three deaths have been in Sedgwick County. There have been at least 342 hospitalizations, though hospitalization data is not available for all cases.
Sumner and Cowley counties have both had one coronavirus patient die. A Harvey County coronavirus patient has died, but acute leukemia is the official cause of death
The Sedgwick County Health Department reports 86 people have recovered from COVID-19. That means they have either gone a week since symptoms started or their symptoms have been gone for three days, whichever is longer.
Epidemiologists have determined 32 coronavirus cases in Sedgwick County are travel-related, 98 had close contact with another coronavirus patient, 65 are believed to be community spread and 16 are under investigation. The county’s report, which comes out after the state’s, had 211 cases.
There have been 13,174 negative tests in Kansas.
Patients range in age from infant to 99 years old, with a median age of 53 and an average age of 53. Race and ethnicity data is not available for all cases. In the cases where information is available, 73% are white, 22% are black and other races comprise the remaining 5%. Ethnicity data shows 15% of patients are Hispanic or Latino.
In Sedgwick County, 1,504 tests have been administered. The testing rate is 2.91 people per 1,000 population, which continues to lag behind both south-central and northeast Kansas.
In the Wichita area, Reno County has 13 cases and a testing rate of 4.53. Butler County’s numbers are 10 and 3.06, Harvey County has five and 3.17, Sumner County two and 2.23, Cowley County one and 2.81, and Kingman County zero and 3.22.
In the Kansas City area, Wyandotte County has 363 cases — the most in the state — and a testing rate of 9.09. Johnson County has 334 and 5.31, Leavenworth County 93 and 9.66, and Douglas County 41 and 8.74.
Local testing capacity increases
Sedgwick County officials said the health department’s testing capacity has been increased and testing criteria has been revised.
The new testing criteria requires a resident to have a fever and at least two other COVID-19 symptoms to be tested. There are no restrictions based on age or underlying health conditions. The county’s drive-through testing location can now sample more than 100 people per day.
Previous testing criteria had been more restrictive due to limited supplies. Local public health officials said there is still a shortage of swabs.
People experiencing symptoms are asked to call United Way of the Plains at 211 to be screen for sampling. The county health director said in a news release that United Way has seen a decrease in the number of calls for sampling.
In addition to a fever, other COVID-19 symptoms include chills, shivering, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, sore throat, loss of smell or taste, cough, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
Sedgwick County commission approves furlough
The Sedgwick County Commission voted Wednesday to approve employee furloughs. Officials said 222 employees volunteered for the furlough but not all would qualify. County Manager Tom Stolz said it’s probable there could be other cuts this year.
“There is going to be a time and a place this year where all employees are going to be asked to sacrifice,” Stolz said.
Kansas stay-home order extended
Governor Laura Kelly extended the state’s stay-home order until May 3. The original executive order took effect March 28 and would have lasted until April 19.
Printing company giving away thousands of postcards to ‘spread encouragement, gratitude’
Wichita-based POD Print has announced its SmileShare campaign. Thousands of postcards that “spread words of encouragement to those who could use it” will be printed this week and be available for free at more than 30 locations around the Wichita area. Postcards can also be picked up by calling the business at 316-522-5599 to arrange a pickup. A list of locations can be found here.
IRS launches site so Americans can track stimulus money
The Internal Revenue Service launched an online tool so Americans can track the status of their coronavirus stimulus money. The money has already started arriving in some Kansans’ bank accounts.
How to get free food
If your family is struggling and could use help with groceries, several Wichita-area food pantries and soup kitchens have free food. For more information, including a listing of where to get food assistance, click here.
Unemployment questions and answers
Do you have questions on filing for unemployment benefits in Kansas during the coronavirus pandemic. To read The Eagle’s answers to some of the most common questions that readers have asked, click here.
New Kansas influenza numbers
The KDHE reports 130 people with influenza have died so far this flu season, up from 126 deaths a week ago.
The state health department’s weekly update, with information last updated on Monday, shows the flu has been the direct cause of death for 104 people. The flu was a contributing cause of death for an additional 26 people. Four of this flu season’s deaths have been pediatric cases.
The influenza death count of 130 for the 2019-20 flu season has surpassed the 97 people who died in the last flu season, which runs from Sept. 1 to May 31. The percentage of total patients at Kansas health care facilities with influenza-like illness peaked in February.
Influenza is a common cause of pneumonia, and the KDHE reports 304 deaths directly caused by pneumonia and 758 deaths where pneumonia was a contributing cause during this flu season.
The World Health Organization director general said last month that coronavirus causes a more severe disease than seasonal influenza and the death rate of infected patients is much higher. Additionally, there are vaccines and treatments for the flu, but not for COVID-19.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 11:56 AM.