Coronavirus updates: Kansas has 5 deaths, 199 new cases of COVID-19 in 2 days
The Eagle has compiled a list of coronavirus news and updates for the Wichita area for Wednesday. For updates from Tuesday, click here.
New Kansas coronavirus numbers
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s coronavirus pandemic report for Wednesday lists 8,539 cases of COVID-19 in the state, up from 8,340 on Monday. The statewide death count is 178, which is an increase of five.
The number of cases in Sedgwick County increased by five to 517.
The KDHE numbers include confirmed and probable cases, but the number of probable cases is not detailed in the health department’s statistics. Probable cases are defined as someone who has symptoms and has been linked to a confirmed COVID-19 patient.
There have been 62,664 negative tests.
With 8,673 residents tested in Sedgwick County, the local testing rate is 16.8 people per 1,000 population. That is the lowest testing rate of the nine counties with at least 100 cases.
The other eight counties are Ford County with 1,440 cases and a testing rate of 116.1 per 1,000 people, Finney County with 1,307 cases and a rate of 72.0, Wyandotte County with 1,217 cases and a rate of 39.0, Leavenworth County with 1,057 cases and a rate of 54.3, Seward County with 799 cases and a rate of 93.9, Johnson County with 696 cases and a rate of 23.7, Lyon County with 366 cases and a rate of 33.6 and Shawnee County with 211 cases and a rate of 30.5.
Cases have been identified in 84 of Kansas’ 105 counties. In the Wichita area, Reno County has 51 cases, Butler County has 23, Harvey County has 13, Sumner County has six, Cowley County has four and Kingman County has zero.
There are 96 clusters in the state, accounting for 4,315 cases, or 51% of the total, and 136 deaths, or 76% of the total.
Patients range in age from infant to 100 years old. The median age is 42 and the average is 43. The youngest person to die from COVID-19 in Kansas was 36. The oldest was 99, and the median is 80.
There have been 20 new hospitalizations, bringing the number to 760, though hospitalization data is only available in about 65% of cases. There have been 258 admissions to intensive care units, and 116 patients have required mechanical ventilation. There have been eight more patients discharged from hospitals, bringing the number of discharged patients to 473.
In cases where race and ethnicity data are available, Asian, black or African American and Hispanic or Latino communities continue to be disproportionately affected.
Race data is available in about 79% of cases. The white population is testing positive at a rate of about 201 people per 100,000 population. The case rates are about 495 per 100,000 for Asians, 408 per 100,000 for Black and African American people, about 45 per 100,000 for American Indians or Alaska natives, and about 215 per 100,000 for all other races combined.
Ethnicity data is available in about 81% of cases. The case rate for Hispanic or Latino people is 10.03 per 100,000 people, which is more than seven times the rate of 1.33 per 100,000 for people who are not Hispanic or Latino.
New Sedgwick County COVID-19 numbers
The Sedgwick County Health Department reported an increase of one case on Wednesday, from 538 to 539. No new deaths were attributed to COVID-19, keeping the local death count at 20.
Discrepancies between county and state numbers can be due to confirmed cases from one health department not yet being finalized with the other, officials have said.
The number of recoveries had no change, staying at 367. Epidemiologists have not identified any new clusters in the county.
Indicators for personal protective equipment supplies in Sedgwick County show first responders and medical facilities are running low on surgical gowns, surgical masks and medical nitrile gloves, of which there is less than a three-week supply. There is less than a five-week supply of N95 masks. There is more than a five-week supply of Tyvek coveralls and testing supplies at the county health department.
The county has introduced a new online map showing testing rates and confirmed cases by ZIP code. The ZIP codes with the most testing per population are 67026 and 67202.
Wichita Municipal Court to reopen
Wichita Municipal Court, which shut down during the pandemic, will reopen May 26. People who had cases pending before the closure have been assigned new court dates. Those dates can be found by using the docket search tool at Wichita.gov/court.
Sedgwick County Courthouse and Juvenile Courthouse to open Tuesday
The main Sedgwick County Courthouse and Juvenile Courthouse will open Tuesday with additional security measures. People will be screened before being allowed in and given masks to wear. Employees will also wear masks “while working closely with the public and while in public common areas,” according to a Sedgwick County news release.
Wichita business will hand out free sack lunches to students
The Common Grounds Coffee House, 2812 E. Douglas, will have free sack lunches for students from Friday through May 29, excluding Sunday. Lunch pickup will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The meals will fill a week-long gap between when Wichita Public Schools meal service ends for the school year and when it resumes for the summer.
KDWPT donates meat to food banks
The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism has donated more than 2,000 pounds of elk and bison meat to local food banks in the state.
Agency officials said in a news release that the 2,137 pounds of meat was donated to seven food banks. It was delivered in 5-pound boxes, each of which contained 20 one-quarter pound patties. There were more than 400 boxes.
The meat came from elk and bison harvested from herds managed at the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge in Canton and the Sandsage Bison Range near Garden City. The agency said it usually harvests a small number of animals every year to maintain an optimum herd size for the available habitat. The meat is typically used for education and outreach efforts.
“As many Kansas food banks experience an increase in demand, donations such as this can go a long way,” the agency said in a statement. “KDWPT’s donated elk and bison will feed approximately 8,500 people.”
The food pantry of Wichita-based Catholic Charities received some of the meat.
“We try to have a protein or meat item for every household, but access to meat is difficult,” said Joe Seitz, director of Our Daily Bread food pantry, in the KDWPT news release. “One of these boxes is perfect for a family, so we’re very much appreciative of this.”
Wichita nonprofit sends COVID aid nationwide
Alternative Gifts International, a nonprofit based in Wichita, has made $19,200 in donations to 16 food pantries and shelter agencies across the United States.
The communities receiving gifts of $1,200 each from the 2019-2020 Gift Market season and individual donations are the Marion County Resource Center, Knights Against Hunger, Annandale Christian Community for Action, Sebastopol Interchurch Food Pantry, Cache Community Food Pantry, Metro Caring, Harvest Table, Utah Food Bank, Food At First, Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries, Decatur-Area Emergency Assistance Ministry, Decatur Cooperative Ministry, South Brunswick Township Food Pantry, Partners for Wichita, First Presbyterian Church - Community Breakfast Program and Lutheran Community Services.
Kansas Star Casino reopening
The Kansas Star Casino Hotel Event Center in Mulvane will reopen to the public at 11 a.m. Saturday, officials said in a news release. The reopening is subject to state and local regulatory approval. Hours of operation will be 9 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Casino gaming will be temporarily limited to slot machines only, with table games and live poker remaining closed during the initial reopening phase.
“As we reopen our doors, the health and safety of our customers, our team members and the community will be our highest priority,” said Jeff Babinski, Vice President and General Manager of Kansas Star, in a statement. “Throughout our property, we will implement comprehensive safety protocols approved by local, state and federal health officials. We are excited for the opportunity to reopen Kansas Star, and we look forward to offering our customers an enjoyable – and safe – entertainment experience.”
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 12:19 PM.