Coronavirus updates: Kansas sees another record week for cases

Kansas has seen another record week of new COVID-19 cases, according to Kansas Department of Health and Environment data released Friday.

The KDHE reported an increase of 1,774 cases and 23 deaths between early Wednesday and early Friday morning, bringing the weekly total from last Friday to 5,375 cases and 116 deaths.

In mid-May, Kansas was averaging daily cases in the hundreds and a couple of deaths per day. This past week, Kansas averaged 768 new cases and 16 deaths each day.

KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman said a few weeks ago that he believes cases could increase to as many as 900 a day on average in the coming months, according to the Associated Press.

Since March, Kansas has recorded a total of 76,230 cases and 975 deaths.

The median age of people diagnosed with coronavirus in Kansas is 37; the median age of those dying from COVID-19 is 80.

Sedgwick County

Sedgwick County saw its case number increase 365 from Wednesday, bringing the total to 11,550. The case increase accounts for roughly 21% of the state’s total increase from Wednesday.

The population in Sedgwick County accounted for about 18% of the state’s population in the 2010 census.

Sedgwick County has the second-most cases in Kansas behind Johnson County’s 14,148.

This week, Sedgwick County has had its second-worst figure for the percent of COVID-19 tests coming back positive. KDHE data shows Sedgwick County has had more than 13% of its tests come back positive. The week beginning Aug. 9 has the record high of more than 15% of tests coming back positive.

The percent of positive statewide has been nearly 10% this week.