Coronavirus cases fall in Kansas, but COVID numbers may be illusion after Thanksgiving

Kansas public health officials reported 31 more deaths attributed to COVID-19 over the weekend as national experts predict a week of erratic coronavirus numbers due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Monday also reported 87 new hospitalizations and 4,425 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday’s report. There have been totals of 1,560 deaths, 5,105 hospitalizations and 157,446 confirmed and probable cases in Kansas during the pandemic.

Sedgwick County had an increase of 917 cases, according to the state health department. It has had the most cases of any county at 27,966.

All 31 patients who died were 55 years old or older. There was at least one new hospitalization in every age group except for 10-17 years old.

In addition to 87 new hospitalizations statewide, there were 24 new ICU admissions and six more patients placed on ventilators. Sedgwick County residents accounted for 27 new hospitalizations, five new ICU admissions and one more patient on mechanical ventilation.

The Sedgwick County Health Department reported 273 coronavirus disease patients were hospitalized at Wichita’s Ascension Via Christi and Wesley Healthcare hospitals as of Monday morning. That is up one from 272 a week ago.

The ICUs remain full with all of the estimated 208 ICU beds occupied — 80 of those patients have COVID-19 — though the medical facilities “are managing through contingency operations,” the health department reports. The local hospital status is listed as “critical.”

National health experts predict artificially depressed coronavirus case and test data this week as fewer people got tested during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and testing sites observed shorter hours, the Associated Press reported. Record-keeping lags over the long weekend could result in a dip in reported infections, offering an illusion that the spread of the virus is easing.

“I just hope that people don’t misinterpret the numbers and think that there wasn’t a major surge as a result of Thanksgiving, and then end up making Christmas and Hanukkah and other travel plans,” Dr. Leana Wen, a professor at George Washington University and an emergency physician, told the AP.

Monday’s increase of 4,425 cases was the smallest statewide increase of any Monday-Wednesday-Friday report from the KDHE since Nov. 4. The previous two Monday reports both had more than 7,000 new cases.

All seven counties in the immediate Wichita area experienced significant drops in the rate of new cases, despite the positive test rates experiencing only small dips. Regardless of the decreases, all of the counties remain in the red zone of the two-week rate of new cases compared to population, and all but one are in the red zone of the two-week positive test rate.

The most recent data from the KDHE shows the two-week rates, as of Saturday compared to the previous Saturday, were:

• Sedgwick County decreased to 1,047 new cases per 100,000 people, which was down from a rate of 1,418 new cases. The positive test rate was 22.10%, compared to 22.13% the previous week.
• Reno County decreased to 1,729 new cases per 100,000 people, which was down from a rate of 1,979 new cases. The positive test rate was 23.39%, compared to 23.48% the previous week.
• Butler County decreased to 1,155 new cases per 100,000 people, which was down from a rate of 1,369 new cases. The positive test rate was 18.68%, compared to 18.80% the previous week.
• Harvey County decreased to 1,075 new cases per 100,000 people, which was down from a rate of 1,525 new cases. The positive test rate was 19.41%, compared to 19.48% the previous week.
• Cowley County decreased to 1,369 new cases per 100,000 people, which was down from a rate of 1,719 new cases. The positive test rate was 15.30%, compared to 15.32% the previous week.
• Sumner County decreased to 889 new cases per 100,000 people, which was down from a rate of 941 new cases. The positive test rate was 27.38%, compared to 27.56% the previous week.
• Kingman County decreased to 1,552 new cases per 100,000 people, which was down from a rate of 1,776 new cases. The positive test rate was 9.87%, compared to 9.89% the previous week.

The state set the red zone thresholds at 150 new cases per 100,000 people and a positive test rate of 15%. The two statistics are key indicators in the Kansas State Department of Education guide for reopening and closing schools during the pandemic.

Every county in Kansas is in the red zone for the two-week rate of new cases. There are only five out of 105 counties in the green zone of the positive test rate, which is the only zone that recommends in-person schooling and sports.

This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 1:29 PM.