Breakdown of Kansas COVID-19 testing, cases by month and compared to the U.S.
Kansas had its highest COVID-19 testing month in August.
That’s good news for health officials and educators trying to get ahead of a virus that’s killed 446 Kansans, hospitalized four times that and ravaged the economy.
August also had its lowest case-fatality rate.
The bad news, August showed the second-highest figures of any month since the virus was found in the state on March 7. It was second in percent of positive cases and hospitalizations and tied for second in deaths. It also had the most reported cases, with 14,800.
But how does Kansas compare to the U.S. as a whole? The state’s case fatality rate has been consistently lower than the nation’s, but other numbers vacillate. Here’s a comparison of the totals so far and a month-by-month breakdown:
Coronavirus numbers in total
Kansas:
Percent of positive tests: 45,220 cases/427,205 tests = 10.58%
Cases per 1,000 residents: 15.84
Testing per 1,000 residents: 149.73
Hospitalizations: 2,415
Number of deaths: 481
Case fatality rate: 1.06%
U.S.
Percent of positive tests: 6,117,481 cases/79,816,686 tests = 7.66%
Cases per 1,000 residents: 19.81
Testing per 1,000 residents: 258.55
Hospitalizations: 375,400
Number of deaths: 178,742
Case fatality rate: 2.92%
*Based on figures from The COVID Tracking Project as of Sept. 3
August comparison
Percent of positive tests: Kansas, 14,800 cases/120,742 tests = 12.25%; U.S., 1,460,406 cases/22,253,968 tests = 6.56%
Cases per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 5.18; U.S., 4.73
Testing per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 42.31; U.S., 72.08
Hospitalizations: Kansas 553; U.S. 62,292
Number of deaths: Kansas, 88; U.S., 30,260
Case fatality rate: Kansas, 0.59%; U.S. 2.07%
July comparison
Percent of positive tests: Kansas, 13,369 cases/115,782 tests = 11.54%; U.S., 1,955,684 cases/23,681,531 tests = 8.25%
Cases per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 4.68; U.S., 6.33
Testing per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 40.58; U.S. 76.71
Hospitalizations: Kansas 599, U.S. 67,262
Number of deaths: Kansas, 88; U.S. 25,882
Case fatality rate: Kansas, 0.65%; U.S., 1.32%
June comparison
Percent of positive tests: Kansas, 4,724 cases/ 81,776 tests = 5.77%; U.S., 834,347 cases/15,539,039 tests = 5.36%
Cases per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 1.65; U.S., 2.70
Testing per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 28.66; U.S. 50.33
Hospitalizations: Kansas 310; U.S. 32,762
Number of deaths: Kansas, 62; U.S., 20,554
Case fatality rate: Kansas, 1.31%; U.S., 2.46%
May comparison
Percent of positive tests: Kansas, 5,481 cases/63,323 tests = 8.65%; U.S., 674,959 cases/9,943,776 tests = 6.78%
Cases per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 1.92; U.S., 2.18
Testing per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 22.19; U.S., 32.21
Hospitalizations: Kansas 319; U.S. 84,278
Number of deaths: Kansas, 79; U.S. 39,337
Case fatality rate: Kansas, 1.44%; U.S., 5.82%
April comparison
Percent of positive tests: Kansas, 3,810 cases/26,202 tests = 14.5%; U.S., 876,460 cases/5,231,473 tests = 16.75%
Cases per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 1.33; U.S., 2.83
Testing per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 9.18; U.S., 16.94
Hospitalizations: Kansas, 444; U.S., 100,061
Number of deaths: Kansas, 120; U.S., 55,266
Case fatality rate: Kansas, 3.14%; 6.30%
March comparison
Percent of positive tests: Kansas 428 cases/5,424 tests = 7.89%; U.S. 197,686 cases/1,095,861 tests =18.03%
Cases per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 0.15; U.S., 0.64
Testing per 1,000 residents: Kansas, 1.90; U.S., 3.54
Hospitalizations: Kansas, 79; U.S., 23,719
Number of deaths: Kansas, 9; U.S., 4,287
Case fatality rate: Kansas, 2.10%; U.S., 2.16%
In the month-by-month analysis, KDHE reports don’t always fall on complete months so data from The COVID Tracking Project was compared using the same days. It’s also possible negative testing is accounted for differently, which could make a discrepancy when comparing percent positive in Kansas with the U.S. According to the KDHE, hospitalizations and deaths are preliminary and based on when reports were made to the organization. Not all cases/deaths/hospitalizations occurred in the month they were reported. Also, the KDHE added probable cases to its case count in May and, at the end of July, changed its testing definition to only include diagnostic testing, which impacted the number of negative tests. When computing the cases and tests per 1,000 people, 2010 U.S. Census data was used.