Kansas has 132 new coronavirus cases — the lowest daily increase in two weeks

The number of new coronavirus cases reported on Monday in Kansas is the state’s lowest daily increase in two weeks. No new local cases were reported for the first time in about a month and a half.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s daily coronavirus update listed 7,116 cases of COVID-19 and 158 deaths in the state. The numbers increased by 132 new cases and one new death since Sunday’s report.

The last time the daily increase was lower was on April 26, when 118 new cases were reported.

There were no new cases reported in Sedgwick County, which has 451 cases. The last day no new cases were reported in Sedgwick County was March 23.

Monday is the last time the KDHE is releasing a daily update. The health department is switching to updates only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The KDHE counts include probable cases. There are four probable COVID-19 cases in Sedgwick County. It is unclear how many cases statewide are probable as of Monday, but there were 70 probable cases on Friday. Coronavirus cases have been identified in 83 of 105 counties.

Probable cases are defined as someone who has symptoms and has been linked to a confirmed COVID-19 patient.

Statewide, 660 people have been hospitalized, though KDHE hospitalization data is only available in approximately 63% of cases. Of those hospitalized, 233 patients have been admitted into intensive care units and 101 have required mechanical ventilation. There have been 376 patients discharged from hospitals.

Coronavirus patients in Kansas, both hospitalized and not hospitalized, range in age from infant to 100 years old. The average age is 44 and the median is 42.

The youngest patient to die of COVID-19 in the state was 36 years old. The oldest was 99, and the median is 82.

In cases where race and ethnicity information is available, the data shows black or African American, Asian and Hispanic or Latino communities continue to be disproportionately affected by the disease. Race and ethnicity data are available in about 75% of cases.

There have been 46,993 negative tests in Kansas.

Of the nine counties with at least 100 confirmed cases, Sedgwick County has the lowest testing rate. There have been 6,629 tests for a local testing rate of 12.85 people per 1,000 population.

The other eight are Ford County with 1,135 cases, Wyandotte County with 1,095, Leavenworth County with 939, Finney County with 905, Seward County with 693, Johnson County with 611, Lyon County with 334 and County with 165.

In the Wichita area, Reno County has 54 cases, Butler County has 18, Harvey County has 10, Sumner County has four, Cowley County has three and Kingman County has zero.

There are more than 1.3 million cases in the United States and more than 80,000 deaths.

In other coronavirus pandemic news for the Wichita area:

Sedgwick County releases updated numbers

The Sedgwick County Health Department reports 469 cases — an increase of one — and 19 deaths as of Monday. Discrepancies between county and state numbers can arise when confirmed cases from one health department have not yet been finalized with the other, officials have said.

There have been 291 local patients who have recovered. A person is considered to have recovered from COVID-19 if symptoms have been gone for three days or if a week has passed since symptoms started, whichever is longer.

Of the 469 cases, epidemiologists have determined about 61% had close contact with another confirmed case, about 26% are likely community spread, about 9% are travel-related and about 4% are under investigation.

Epidemiologists have not identified any new clusters in the county. There are nine known clusters, including outbreaks at three long-term care facilities, three businesses and three religious centers.

In Sedgwick County, at least 99 patients have been hospitalized and at least 71 have been discharged. The hospitalization data includes information through Saturday. County officials say there is a delay in hospitalization data reporting to ensure accuracy.

Indicators for personal protective equipment supplies in Sedgwick County show first responders and medical facilities are running low on surgical gowns and medical nitrile gloves, of which there is less than a three-week supply. There is less than a five-week supply of Tyvek coveralls. There is more than a five-week supply of N95 masks and surgical masks.

United Way help center taking appointments

The United Way of the Plains help center is taking appointments for individuals financially affected by the pandemic or aviation-related layoffs. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 211.

For more information, click here.

PPE listing for Wichita businesses

Several local organizations are partnering to create a resource for area businesses and organizations that want to buy personal protective equipment during the pandemic. A list of local vendors for face masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, gowns, Plexiglas barriers and more is available at wichitachamber.org/covid-19-suppliers.

New KDHE influenza numbers

The KDHE’s weekly influenza surveillance report listed 136 deaths for the 2019-20 flu season. There was no change from last week to the overall death count, but two cases where the flu had been listed as a contributing cause of death have now been changed to the flu being the direct cause.

The report listed the flu as the direct cause of death for 112 patients and a contributing cause in another 24 cases. The 136 influenza deaths for the 2019-20 flu season have surpassed the 97 people who died in the last flu season, which runs from Sept. 1 to May 31.

Medical center visits for influenza-like illnesses peaked in February.

The first case of COVID-19 in Kansas was reported on March 7. The first death was reported on March 12. Coronavirus deaths passed seasonal flu deaths last week.

The World Health Organization director general has said 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 May 11, 2020 at 12:38 PM.