Coronavirus updates: Sedgwick County trending up in percent positive and hospitalizations

Sedgwick County saw an increase of 41 COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 1,067, the Sedgwick County Health Department reported Saturday.

Deaths held at 28.

New cases are hard predictors of community spread, as it could be determined by more testing. Officials say percent of positive cases and hospitalizations are better indicators if the problem is getting worse.

Both of those are trending upward.

The percent of positive cases hit a high of 12% on April 19 and a second high of about 11.8% on April 28 before trending downward, according to Sedgwick County data. Since hitting a high, Sedgwick County dropped to a low of just under 1% on May 26 before trending back up. The rolling 14-day average was at 4.62% on Friday.

Sedgwick County, like Kansas as a whole, is trending upward in hospitalizations, according to data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The data from June 9-21, lags behind since the newest data “is expected to be incomplete.” The hospitalizations trend line went from about half a case a day at the beginning of the time period to roughly 3.8 by the end.

Statewide, the hospitalization trend line from June 7-21 goes from roughly 5 per day to nearly 10.

The KDHE reports new cases on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The latest report listed 13,538 cases and 264 deaths for the state.

Health officials want to weigh in on any ‘large-scale event’

The Sedgwick County Health Department asked that anyone “holding any large-scale event” contact Sedgwick County officials for recommendations on how to hold the event safely during the COVID-19 outbreak. The health department can be reached at 316-660-7300.