CDC moves 4 Kansas counties to high COVID-19 community level. Sedgwick remains at low

Four Kansas counties are at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s high COVID-19 community level as of Thursday.

Last week, none were at high.

Norton, Phillips, Smith and Wilson counties are all at the high level this week. Fourteen counties are at the medium level, up two from last week. Sedgwick County remains at low.

The CDC updates the metric each Thursday for U.S. counties and bases the assessment on the number of new cases and hospitalizations per 100,000 people (seven-day totals) and the percent of staffed hospital beds occupied by COVID-positive patients (a seven-day average).

In counties a high community level, CDC recommends masking in public, indoor places.

COVID-19 in Sedgwick County

With 137 new cases reported in the last seven days, Sedgwick County’s positive test rate sits at 9.3%, pretty close to where it was last week. The rate accounts for the 14-day average of recorded positives over the total number administered and does not include at-home tests and those not reported to the Sedgwick County Health Department.

The most cases reported in a single day was 29 Feb. 21, and the lowest was nine, recorded yesterday and Feb. 19.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment kept Sedgwick County at its “substantial” rate for another week, which indicates the county experiences 50 to 99 cases per a population of 100,000. Segwick is one of 30 Kansas counties at substantial.

KDHE has 24 counties at a “high” rate, which means they experience more than 100 cases per 100,000. Seventeen counties are at low.

To protect yourself against contracting the virus, wash your hands, stay away from people who may be ill, physically distance when possible and wear a high-quality mask when necessary.

If you do start to get symptoms of COVID-19, test as soon as possible as follow CDC’s quarantine guidelines.

You can find a free vaccine or booster near you at vaccines.gov.

Lindsay Smith

The Wichita Eagle

Lindsay Smith is a suburban news reporter for the Wichita Eagle, covering the communities of Andover, Bel Aire, Derby, Haysville and Kechi. She has been on The Eagle staff since 2022 and was the service journalism reporter for three years. She has a degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism from Wichita State, where she was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Sunflower, for two years. You can reach her via email at lsmith@wichitaeagle.com.