Kansas passes 3,000 deaths from COVID, Gov. Kelly orders flags flown at half-staff

Kansas has passed another grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic — 3,000 deaths from COVID-19.

Gov. Laura Kelly ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the 3,027 “lives lost and the families left behind.”

“It is with great sadness that I am once again ordering flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of the Kansans who have lost their lives to COVID-19,” Kelly said in a statement. “My administration remains committed to fighting further spread of COVID-19, and I know Kansans will do their part to protect their neighbors and loved ones.”

The governor’s directive is in effect for Thursday, from sunup to sundown.

Kelly also ordered flags flown at half-staff when the state passed 1,000 deaths on Oct. 28 and 2,000 deaths on Dec. 11.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 130 new COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, raising the total since March to 3,027. Sedgwick County has had 421 of those deaths, which was an increase of 14 since Monday’s report.

The deceased patients statewide ranged in age from 18 to 107 years old, though the median age was 81. No children have died from COVID-19 in Kansas.

Death reports are expected to lag behind the actual date of death as the KDHE uses death certificates to verify statistics. The dates of death are not released in the government’s coronavirus report.

Approximately 1.3% of the known COVID-19 cases in Kansas have ended in death, and about 3% of patients have been hospitalized.

The KDHE reported 236,818 confirmed and probable cases on Wednesday, which marked a two-day increase of 5,501 new cases. Sedgwick County had 975 of the new cases, bringing its total to 42,336.

Statewide, there were 158 new hospitalizations and 52 new intensive care unit admissions. Kansas has had 7,113 total COVID-19 hospitalizations and 1,928 total ICU admissions.

In Sedgwick County, there have been 940 total hospitalizations with 249 ICU admissions. There were 23 new hospitalizations and six more ICU admissions since Monday.

This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 1:08 PM.