Sedgwick County now a ‘rapid riser’ in COVID rates as CDC reports positivity above 5%

Federal public health officials have newly classified Sedgwick County as a “rapid riser,” coinciding with reports that the local positive COVID-19 test rate is back above 5%.

The White House COVID-19 Task Force’s data as of Friday showed Sedgwick County was recently added as a “rapid riser.” The county has “moderate burden” — which is a step below “emerging hotspot” — and “substantial” community spread. The data was published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

With the worsening from “moderate” to “substantial” transmission, “everyday activities should be limited to reduce spread and protect the health care system,” the data report states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said “prevention strategies should be intensified” in communities with substantial spread.

Mitigation measures should start with the community, the CDC says.

“K-12 schools should be the last settings to close after all other prevention measures in the community have been employed, and the first to reopen when they can do so safely,” according to CDC recommendations. The CDC urges prioritizing in-person learning “over nonessential businesses and activities, including indoor dining, bars, social gatherings, and close contact sports as community transmission is controlled.”

Further, the CDC says school clusters become more likely with higher levels of community transmission. Sedgwick County’s numbers indicate that teachers and staff should be tested twice a week, as should participants in high-risk sports.

Sedgwick County indicators, vaccinations

The CDC reported several updated indicators for Sedgwick County on Sunday.

Sedgwick County had a rate of 60.65 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the last seven days. That was a drop of about 17% from the previous week. The case rate is in the orange zone.

The seven-day positive test rate was 5.41%. The coronavirus positivity rate is in the yellow zone and has more than doubled from the 2.5% reported exactly one month ago.

Sedgwick County had 33 total confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals over the last seven days, equating to 1.69 admissions per 100 inpatient beds. That rate is in the green zone of the federal standards.

Fewer than 10 confirmed coronavirus deaths were reported in the county in the last week, so a death rate was unavailable.

Sedgwick County has been climbing the vaccination rankings in the past month, but still ranks in the bottom-half of the state.

As of Sunday, the CDC reported 127,850 residents of Sedgwick County have been fully vaccinated, or 24.8% of the entire population. That ranks No. 73 of 105 counties in Kansas. The 33% of adults fully vaccinated is No. 68 in the state, and the 59.2% of senior citizens fully vaccinated is No. 72.

Nearly a month ago, on March 28, the CDC reported Sedgwick County had the worst, worst and third-worst rankings in those same categories.

The number of people in Sedgwick County fully vaccinated could be higher, as the CDC reports nearly 60,000 Kansans did not have a county of residence listed on their vaccination record. Sedgwick County’s full vaccination rate is about one-third of the way to the low end of what experts estimate is necessary for herd immunity.

Masks mandates

The positive test rate surpassing 5% is significant because it is used as a benchmark. Wichita’s citywide mask ordinance, which was allowed to expire in October, had been tied in-part to a positivity rate above 5%.

Masks have not been required by Wichita law, Sedgwick County health orders or Gov. Laura Kelly executive orders since the end of March.

Top doctors at The University of Kansas Health System say masks should still be mandated.

“Until we have more people vaccinated, I’m a little nervous about repealing mask mandates, especially indoors,” Dr. Steve Stites, KU’s chief medical officer, said during a Thursday media briefing.

A positive test rate of 5% has also been a benchmark for reopening schools. Some Wichita area districts have dropped or loosened mask requirements.

In Valley Center, a grievance from former county commissioner Richard Ranzau led the board of education to allow people to take off masks when socially distanced at an outdoor sporting event. Masks are still required in K-12 classrooms.

“If you’re going to say to me we’re not going to have a mask mandate outdoors but we’re going to have it indoors, I’d grimace and say big crowds should still be masked outdoors, but I could get along with it,” Stites said.

Wearing masks helps reduce spread and save lives, said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, KU’s medical director of infection prevention and control.

“The data overwhelmingly show that the things that reduce the spread of disease and thereby reduce illness, hospitalization and overall deaths in a community is masking and distancing and doing those things,” Hawkinson said. “Also those in a combination with individual things, like contact tracing.”

“Everyone wants to be normal, but here’s the problem: we’re really not normal yet,” Stites said. “So if you try to be normal when you’re not normal, things don’t go as well. One of my biggest fears is you’ll see what’s happening in Michigan and Pennsylvania.”

Michigan in particular is in the midst of a surge fueled in part by coronavirus variants and increased infections among children. Hospitals in the state have reported they are at or near 100% capacity.

Kansas, which has a smaller but increasing number of variant cases, has among the best COVID-19 indicators in the country. The state has the sixth-best rate of new cases and the fifth-best rate of new deaths, the CDC reported on Sunday.s