Coronavirus update Saturday: 2nd death reported at Wichita-area nursing home cluster
Here is the Wichita-area news on the coronavirus pandemic for Saturday, April 18. For updates from Friday, click here.
Second death among cluster at Wichita-area nursing home
A second resident has died at the Clearwater Nursing and Rehabilitation Center where at least 11 people, including two staff members, have been infected with the novel coronavirus, owner Willie Novotny said in a news release on Saturday. The cluster was discovered last weekend.
Novotny said, since the discovery, 12 residents have been sent to the hospital and two of them passed away. All 50-plus of the residents have been tested and results could be back by Monday, Novotny said. Additionally, he said they haven’t been able to get testing for the staff and some employees have “quit out of an abundance of caution, or fear, and some have been sent home due to having symptoms or positive tests.”
New Kansas coronavirus numbers
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported an increase of 85 people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the state, bringing the statewide total to 1,790.
Sedgwick County reported it has 238 cases, an increase of 12 cases from the day before.
There have been two additional deaths in Kansas attributed to COVID-19, bringing the total to 86. Three deaths have been in Sedgwick County.
Statewide, at least 383 people have been hospitalized, though hospitalization data is not available in about 18% of cases.
Patients range in age from an infant to 99, with an average age of 52 and a median age of 52. There have been 15,886 negative tests.
Race was missing or not reported in 336 of the cases. Of the available data, 1,076 were white people (rate of about 42 per 100,000), 301 were black (roughly 138 per 100,000), 24 Asian (22 per 100,000) and 10 American Indian or Alaska native (15 per 100,000) and 43 other race.
In the Wichita area, Reno County has 13 cases and a testing rate of 5.5 per 1,000 people; Butler County has 12 cases (3.75 per 1,000 testing rate); Sumner County reported three cases (2.85 per 1,000 testing rate), and Harvey County five cases (3.63 per 1,000 testing rate).
Sedgwick County, with 238 cases, has a testing rate of 4.56 per 1,000 people, which is the lowest among counties with more than 100 cases.
Wyandotte County, with 412 cases, has a testing rate of 10.36 per 1,000 people; Johnson County has 369 cases and a testing rate of 6.06 per 1,000 people; Leavenworth County, with 123 cases, has a testing rate of 11.01 per 1,000 people and Ford County has 107 cases and a testing rate of 7.23 per 1,000 people.
Wichita airport to receive $11.3 million in relief funds
U.S. Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) announced more than $53 million in grants would go to 80 Kansas airports under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport will receive more than $11.3 million in CARES Act grants, Estes said in a news release. A full list of the grant recipients can be found here.
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 list 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.
This story was originally published April 18, 2020 at 12:36 PM.