20-year-old patient among nine new deaths from COVID-19 in Kansas over the weekend

The death of a 20-year-old patient with COVID-19 was one of nine new deaths from the coronavirus disease reported over the weekend in Kansas.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s pandemic statistics showed 335 total deaths on Monday, which was an increase of nine from Friday’s report. The KDHE had previously reported the youngest patient to die was 29 years old. That changed on Monday with a 20-year-old listed.

The oldest patient to die with COVID-19 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death was 99 years old. The median age is 78.

Kansas reported 1,063 new cases of COVID-19, or an increase of 4.2%, bringing the cumulative total to 26,172 cases. The state does not report active cases or recoveries.

An additional 48 hospitalizations brought the total to 1,644.

Sedgwick County has 3,816 cases, which is up 237 cases or 6.6%, according to the KDHE.

The Sedgwick County Health Department reports 3,740 cases.

Discrepancies in the Sedgwick County case totals between the state and local health departments can be due to a delay in reporting between the agencies. Additionally, local officials only report COVID-19 cases that are confirmed through a nasopharyngeal test while the KDHE case count includes nasopharyngeal tests, antibody tests and people under investigation, according to the county health department.

State statistics show about 98% of the total cases were confirmed with a positive laboratory test.

The 3,740 cases reported by the county health department was an increase of 94 cases from Sunday.

Active cases hit 2,416 with an increase of 47. There have now been 1,288 recoveries after an increases of 47. No new deaths were reported in Sedgwick County, keeping the tally at 36.

An additional 817 people have been tested, putting the number at 51,101. The positive testing percentage, which is a 14-day rolling average, decreased from 13.16% on Saturday to 12.6% on Sunday.

The Sedgwick County area hospital status assessment remained “moderate” on Monday, though the approximate number of intensive care beds dropped by four.

Ascension Via Christi and Wesley Healthcare reported 63 patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized Monday morning, which is an increase of five from the same time last week. That number included 32 patients in intensive care units, which is an increase of one.

While there are about 208 ICU beds at the hospitals, 186 were in use on Monday, so approximately 22 ICU beds were available. That number is down four from last Monday’s report.

Of the 94 new cases, 85 are still under investigation for the source of exposure to the virus. The other nine cases were infected by a close contact, epidemiologists determined.

Fifteen of the new cases were patients between the ages of zero and 19 years old. The 20-39 age group added 40 cases. The 40-59 age group had 27 new cases. The 60-79 age group has 11 more cases. The 80 and older age group added one case.

Coronavirus clusters

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 10 new coronavirus clusters on Monday.

The 325 mass outbreaks, of which 131 are active, are responsible for 7,448 cases and 235 deaths. That’s about 28% of all cases and about 70% of all deaths in Kansas. Clusters also account for 502 hospitalizations, or about 31% of the total.

The number of clusters increased by three private businesses, two daycares or schools, two group homes, two correctional facilities, one health care facility. One additional death was connected to a cluster at a nursing home.

Nursing home outbreaks are responsible for more than half of all deaths in Kansas. The 82 clusters at long-term care facilities account for 1,226 cases and 186 deaths.

There have been more cases at meatpacking plants than any other cluster category. The 13 meatpacking plant clusters account for 3,233 cases and 17 deaths.

The private business cluster category has more outbreaks than any other. The 122 clusters at businesses account for 965 cases and seven deaths.

The seven clusters at correctional facilities account for 1,040 cases and six deaths. The 50 outbreaks at gatherings account for 635 cases and 15 deaths. The 14 clusters at group homes account for 110 cases and three deaths. The 16 clusters at health care facilities account for 123 cases and one death.

Two cluster categories have not been linked to any deaths. The 14 clusters at daycares or schools account for 62 cases. The six clusters at sporting events account for 55 cases.

The Sedgwick County Health Department reports 22 clusters in the county, accounting for 28 deaths. There have been outbreaks at 10 long-term care facilities, eight businesses, three religious institutions and one state prison. No new clusters were identified in the county on Monday.

County COVID-19 comparisons

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reports that cases have been identified in 103 of the state’s 105 counties. The two counties without a case are in northwest Kansas.

There are now 26 counties with at least 100 cases. The one new addition is Miami County.

The COVID-19 case count in Kansas increased by 1,063 over the weekend, which is a percentage change of about 4.2%. Eleven counties out of the 26 counties with at least 100 cases had a greater percentage change than the state. Among those 11 were four Wichita-area counties: Butler, Cowley, Reno and Sedgwick.

The Kansas counties with at least 100 cases of COVID-19:

• Johnson County has 4,643 cases, an increase of 262 cases or 6%.
• Wyandotte County has 4,287 cases, an increase of 180 cases or 4.4%.
• Sedgwick County has 3,816 cases, an increase of 237 cases or 6.6%.
• Ford County has 2,075 cases, an increase of six cases or 0.3%.
• Finney County has 1,626 cases, an increase of 22 cases or 1.4%.
• Leavenworth County has 1,392 cases, an increase of 20 cases or 1.5%.
• Shawnee County has 1,324 cases, an increase of 56 cases or 4.4%.
• Seward County has 1,081 cases, an increase of eight cases or 0.7%.
• Douglas County has 616 cases, an increase of 19 cases or 3.2%.
  
  
• Lyon County has 608 cases, an increase of 22 cases or 3.8%.
  
  
• Riley County has 409 cases, an increase of six cases or 1.5%.
• Crawford County has 373 cases, an increase of six cases or 1.6%.
• Saline County has 310 cases, an increase of 12 cases or 4%.
• Reno County has 214 cases, an increase of 17 cases or 8.6%.
• Geary County has 176 cases, an increase of three cases or 1.7%.
• Butler County has 187 cases, an increase of 15 cases or 8.7%.
• Jackson County has 134 cases, an increase of three cases or 2.3%.
• Harvey County has 143 cases, an increase of three cases or 2.1%.
• Franklin County has 142 cases, an increase of seven cases or 5.2%.
• Cowley County has 140 cases, an increase of 12 cases or 9.4%.
• McPherson County has 126 cases, an increase of five cases or 4.1%.
  
  
• Montgomery County has 122 cases, an increase of 13 cases or 11.9%.
  
  
• Ellis County has 115 cases, an increase of eight cases or 7.5%.
• Labette County has 110 cases, an increase of four cases or 3.8%.
• Miami County has 108 cases, an increase of 12 cases or 12.5%.
• Pottawatomie County has 107 cases, an increase of two cases or 1.9%.

This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 12:55 PM.