Coronavirus update: Kansas reports 6,282 new cases

Kansas on Friday reported a record 6,282 new COVID-19 cases in the state since Wednesday.

It was the first report to hit the 6,000 mark since the Kansas Department of Health and Environment started reporting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in mid-May. The previous high was 5,920 cases reported Monday.

The new cases and 41 new reported deaths brought the state’s total to 115,507 cases and 1,256 deaths. It also brought the average total of daily cases during the past week to 2,553. Kansas averaged 13 deaths a day over the past week.

The daily cases and deaths have been trending up since the new reporting days in mid-May, when there were 100-plus cases a day and an average of a couple of deaths a day.

November has also had the percent of positive cases skyrocket. It is at 20.2% so far in November. April had a high of 13.9% followed by October’s 9.5%.

The percent of positive cases has risen since roughly Oct. 18. The percent of positive cases then was 8.1%. It was 20.1% on Wednesday, the latest day available.

The age of people hospitalized and dying continue to skew older while the majority of cases are in younger age groups.

Roughly 2,160 of the 4,325 hospitalizations, or about 50%, are 65 or older. Of the deaths, 1,052 of the 1,256, or about 84%, are 65 or older.

The majority of cases fall into the 18-to-24 age group. That age group has 20,332 cases, or about 17.6%, of the total 115,507 cases. Nearly 45% of cases are people ages 34 and younger.

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 1:42 PM.