Hospitalizations drop in Wichita as Kansas reports 3 more college coronavirus clusters

Three more coronavirus clusters have been identified at Kansas colleges as public health officials report fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations in Wichita.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 42,612 total cases of COVID-19 on Monday, which was up by 1,564 since Friday. There were three more deaths reported over the weekend, bringing the total to 446. There were 26 more hospitalizations, raising the total to 2,304 since the start of the pandemic.

The Sedgwick County Health Department reported fewer COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Ascencion Via Christi and Wesley Healthcare facilities in Wichita, as well as more intensive care unit beds available.

The current hospitalization numbers for Monday morning from the Sedgwick County Health Department showed 50 COVID-19 patients, with 23 of those in the ICU. Those were down from 59 hospitalizations with 35 in the ICU a week ago. There are 32 of the approximately 208 total ICU beds available.

In the Wichita area, the KDHE reports that Sedgwick County has 7,306 cases, Reno County has 775 cases, Butler County has 474 cases, Harvey County has 291 cases, Cowley County has 255 cases, Sumner County has 121 cases and Kingman County has 43 cases. The case counts are cumulative since the pandemic hit. The KDHE does not report active cases or recoveries.

There were 18 more coronavirus clusters reported in Kansas over the weekend and three more deaths were attributed to the 519 total clusters.

There were three more clusters at colleges or universities and one more cluster at a daycare, though there were no new clusters in the school category. Two more sporting events have had outbreaks.

There were also clusters at four more private events, four private businesses, two more group homes, two more health care facilities and one more bar or restaurant. The fair or festival cluster category dropped by one as an outbreak was reclassified.

There were no new nursing home outbreaks, but all three of the new deaths attributed to clusters were connected to nursing homes.

The Sedgwick County Health Department reported 87 new cases on Monday, bringing its count of confirmed cases to 6,893. No new deaths were reported, keeping the number at 50.

Of the 87 new cases reported by the county, 68 are still under investigation for the source of exposure. The other 19 patients were close contacts of another confirmed case.

There were 19 new cases among children and teenagers. The 20-39 age group had 25 new cases, the 40-59 age group had 21, the 60-79 age group had 16 and the 80 and older age group had six.

The county reported 662 more people have been tested since Sunday, putting the total at 79,795. The KDHE reported 8,538 more negative tests statewide over the weekend, which puts the total at 370,637.

The county reported a positive testing rate of 8.68% for Sunday, which was up from 8.31% on Saturday. The rolling 14-day average has not been above 10% since Aug. 25.

This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 1:51 PM.