Kansas records first death from a school cluster; KDHE names 39 of 241 active outbreaks

State public health officials reported updated coronavirus cluster information on Wednesday, including the first COVID-19 death connected to an outbreak at a school.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment publishes cluster data weekly, including a list of active outbreaks. The state identified 39 of 241 active clusters, including five of 29 at schools.

Wednesday’s report included the first death connected to a school cluster. There have been 38 total coronavirus outbreaks at schools, accounting for 330 cases of COVID-19, seven hospitalizations and one death.

There have also been 28 clusters involving sports, accounting for 219 cases and one hospitalization. The 47 outbreaks at colleges or universities are responsible for 1,145 cases and three hospitalizations.

The list did not identify which school had the death, the age of the patient or the patient’s connection to the school. Kansas has not reported any COVID-19 deaths in children.

The majority of active clusters avoid identification due to the state’s criteria.

The list did not identify active clusters at 69 nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, 27 private businesses, 24 schools, 22 colleges or universities, 15 private events, nine health care facilities, eight correctional facilities, six group living situations, six sports teams or events, five religious gatherings, five government offices, four meatpacking plants, one bar or restaurant and one daycare.

Clusters are generally defined as two or more cases of COVID-19 with a common place and time. The KDHE list identifies most types of outbreaks with five or more cases among Kansas residents with symptom onset dates in the last 14 days. The number of cases on the list only include cases within the last two weeks. Hospitalizations and deaths are not listed for individual clusters.

Locations are removed from the list once there are no longer five or more cases with symptom onset dates in the last two weeks. Home-based daycares and private events are excluded due to privacy concerns.

The KDHE reported 53 new clusters in the last week, but only 21 locations were added to the list of active clusters. Some of those 21 may have been old clusters that had been previously dropped from the list or were not previously identified due to the listing requirements.

Twelve of those locations were long-term care facilities.

Those facilities were Lakeview Village Long Term Care in Lenexa, Brookdale Rosehill in Shawnee, Brookdale Overland Park, Shawnee Post Acute and Rehabilitation Center in Overland Park, Overland Park Center for Rehab and Healthcare, Larksfield Place Assisted Living in Wichita, Diversicare of Hutchinson, Cheney Golden Age Home, Minneapolis Health and Rehabilitation Center, Plaza West Healthcare and Rehab Center in Topeka, Reflection Living in Dodge City and Topside Manor in Goodland.

In education, the new additions to the active cluster list were Hutchinson Community College, Independence High School, Maur Hill-Mount Academy in Atchison and Oak Grove Elementary School in Kansas City.

Other active outbreaks added to the list were First State Bank in Norton, Sabetha Community Hospital, Finney County Jail, Norton Correctional Facility and Reno County Correctional Facility.

Naming the locations is intended to provide “more transparency,” as well as “empower Kansans to be more proactive about assessing their own personal risk,” the KDHE website states.

Kansas has had 806 total clusters, accounting for 15,543 cases, 805 hospitalizations and 470 deaths. There state has had totals of 69,155 cases, 3,309 hospitalizations and 838 deaths.

Nursing homes and other care facilities account for nearly half of all deaths in the state at 405.

There have been 19 deaths connected to meatpacking plant clusters, 13 from churches and other religious gatherings, 11 from private businesses, seven from prisons and jails, five from private events, five from hospitals and other medical centers, four from group homes and one from a school.

The full list of active cluster locations identified by the KDHE is available below, or online under the cluster summary tab of the health department’s dashboard at www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas.

Colleges or Universities

• Benedictine College, Atchison, Atchison County, 16 cases.
  
  
• Bethel College, Newton, Harvey County, 36 cases.
• Hutchinson Community College, Hutchinson, Reno County, 21 cases.
• Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Crawford County, 19 cases.

Schools

• Derby High School, Derby, Sedgwick County, nine cases.
• Independence High School, Independence, Montgomery County, five cases.
• Maur Hill-Mount Academy, Atchison, Atchison County, eight cases.
• Oak Grove Elementary School, Kansas City, Wyandotte County, 11 cases.
• USD 443, Dodge City, Ford County, 11 cases.

Private Businesses and Meatpacking Plants

• Cargill, Dodge City, Ford County, eight cases.
  
  
• First State Bank, Norton, Norton County, 10 cases.
• National Beef, Dodge City, Ford County, 31 cases.

Health Care Facility

• Sabetha Community Hospital, Sabetha, Nemaha County, six cases.

Group Living

• Rosewood Services, Great Bend, Barton County, nine cases.

Correctional Facilities

• Ellsworth Correctional Facility, Ellsworth, Ellsworth County, 27 cases.
  
  
• Finney County Jail, Garden City, Finney County, 22 cases.
• Hutchinson Correctional Facility, Hutchinson, Reno County, 105 cases.
• Norton Correctional Facility, Norton, Norton County, 108 cases.
• Reno County Correctional Facility, Hutchinson, Reno County, five cases.

Long-Term Care Facilities

• Brookdale Overland Park, Overland Park, Johnson County, eight cases.
• Brookdale Rosehill, Shawnee, Johnson County, seven cases.
• Cheney Golden Age Home, Cheney, Sedgwick County, 25 cases.
• Diversicare of Hutchinson, Hutchinson, Reno County, 17 cases.
• Garden Terrace at Overland Park, Overland Park, Johnson County, 18 cases.
  
  
• Infinity Park Post Acute and Rehab, Overland Park, Johnson County, 21 cases.
  
  
• Lakeview Village Long Term Care, Lenexa, Johnson County, 16 cases.
• Larksfield Place Assisted Living, Wichita, Sedgwick County, 10 cases.
• Mennonite Friendship Communities, South Hutchinson, Reno County, 47 cases.
  
  
• Minneapolis Health and Rehabilitation Center, Minneapolis, Ottawa, 32 cases.
• Overland Park Center for Rehab and Healthcare, Overland Park, Johnson County, seven cases.
• Plaza West Healthcare and Rehab Center, Topeka, Shawnee County, 25 cases.
• Prairie Senior Living Complex, Colby, Thomas County, five cases.
• Reflection Living, Dodge City, Ford County, seven cases.
• Shawnee Post Acute and Rehabilitation Center, Overland Park, Johnson County, eight cases.
• Sheridan County Health Complex Long Term Care, Hoxie, Sheridan County, eight cases.
  
  
• Stanton County Hospital LTC, Johnson City, Stanton County, five cases.
• Sunporch of Dodge City in September, Dodge City, Ford County, five cases.
• The Piper Assisted Living and Memory Care in September, Kansas City, Wyandotte County, 42 cases.
• Topside Manor, Goodland, Sherman County, 41 cases.

This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 4:05 PM.