Nearly a third of total COVID cases in Sedgwick County occurred in the past two weeks

Nearly one-third of the total COVID-19 cases in Sedgwick County during the coronavirus pandemic were diagnosed during the past two weeks.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported a total of 18,326 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Sedgwick County since March. Of that, 5,811 were new cases since Oct. 28, or about 31.7% of the total.

That number of new cases equates to a two-week rate of 1,126 new cases per 100,000 people. That means more than 1.1% of the approximately 516,042 residents in Sedgwick County were infected with the coronavirus over two weeks.

The state’s red zone for school reopening starts at 150 new cases per 100,000 people over two weeks, which is equivalent to 0.15% of the population.

About 3.6% of everyone who lives in Sedgwick County has contracted COVID-19. Public health experts have advocated against herd immunity without a vaccine, estimating that about 70% of the population would need to be infected through community spread to reach the herd immunity threshold.

“Vaccines create immunity without causing illness or resulting complications,” the Mayo Clinic advises.

“However, there are some major problems with relying on community infection to create herd immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19. ... If many people become sick with COVID-19 at once, the health care system could quickly become overwhelmed.”

Intensive care units at Wichita’s two major hospitals have already hit capacity due to COVID-19 patients. Staffing shortages are compounded by a coronavirus cluster at one of the hospitals, reported Wednesday by the KDHE.

Red zone maps

More than 97% of Kansas counties are in the red zone for the rate of new COVID-19 cases. A state health department map, using data for the two-week period that ended Saturday, shows 102 out of 105 counties in the red zone.

Calculating disease rates per capita is common in public health. The KDHE uses a red zone threshold of 150 new cases per 100,000 people over two weeks. The White House COVID-19 task force uses a red zone threshold of 100 per 100,000 over one week.

Only Comanche, Jewell and Chautauqua counties had rates below the KDHE’s red zone.

The state also reports the two-week positive test rate by county, with 66 out of 105 in the red zone. The KDHE starts its red zone when 15% of tests are positive over a two-week period.. The White House starts its red zone at 10% over one week.

In the Wichita area, the two-week rates using KDHE data as of Saturday were:

• Sedgwick County had a case rate of 1,018 and a positive test rate of 23.20%
• Reno County had a case rate of 1,358 and a positive test rate of 26.04%
• Butler County had a case rate of 840 and a positive test rate of 20.00%
• Harvey County had a case rate of 1,304 and a positive test rate of 19.59%
• Cowley County had a case rate of 710 and a positive test rate of 15.65%
• Sumner County had a case rate of 727 and a positive test rate of 32.54%
• Kingman County had a case rate of 727 and a positive test rate of 8.09%

Wichita schools report 109 new cases

The Wichita School district reported 109 new cases of COVID-19 among students and staff for the week ending Nov. 6, according to its weekly report. Of those cases, 47 are students and 62 are staff.

The Wichita school district issues weekly reports on student and staff cases of COVID-19. There were 62 new cases among students and staff in USD 259 for the weekly report dated Nov. 6. That included 47 students and 62 staff.

The district has an enrollment of 47,230 students and an estimated on-site employee population of 7,308.

That means about 8.5 out of every 1,000 staff members became infected.

Influenza surveillance

The KDHE tracks weekly influenza and pneumonia statistics in Kansas.

No seasonal flu deaths have been reported in the 2020-21 flu season, which started Sept. 1. There have been 59 deaths with pneumonia as the direct cause of death, plus 443 deaths with pneumonia as a contributing cause of death, as of Tuesday.

Both COVID-19 and the flu can cause pneumonia, but they are not the only causes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Driver’s license office closures

A pair of driver’s license offices in Sedgwick County have been closed due to the pandemic.

The Kansas Department of Revenue announced Thursday that it closed the Derby driver’s license office at 620 N. Rock due to a suspected case of COVID-19. The west Wichita location at 610 S. Tyler and the Wichita Twin Lakes office at 1873 W. 21st N both closed earlier this week due to possible exposure.

The Twin Lakes office has since reopened, and the Andover office is also open. The Derby and west Wichita locations are expected to reopen Nov. 20.