10 Kansas counties are at a medium COVID community level as state reports 1K new cases
New cases of COVID-19 have declined in Kansas over the past week, according to the latest data from the state Department of Health and Environment.
For the latest reporting week, which began March 29, the state recorded 1,006 new cases. That compares to 1,218 the week prior and 1,943 roughly a month ago.
Additionally, 19 deaths in Kansas were attributed to COVID-19 for the latest week, a slight decline from the 23 recorded the week before.
Cases and deaths are also falling across the U.S. For the week ending April 5, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 120,820 weekly cases nationwide. That figure does not include case data from Iowa, which ended mandatory reporting as of April 1.
The 19 new deaths in Kansas are part of the 10,154 in the state and 1.127 million in the U.S. since the onset of the pandemic.
As of April 4, the KDHE reports 37.2% of adult inpatient hospital beds are available with 55 reporting facilities.
The KDHE has four counties in its high incident rate category as of March 31. Those are Graham, Hodgeman, Anderson and Allen counties, and they are experiencing at or more than 100 cases per 100,000 in population as of the latest available data.
Another 10 counties are at the next highest incident rate, substantial. The state’s incident rate metric lags behind case counts by five days as officials expect the data to be incomplete.
COVID-19 community levels in Kansas
The number of Kansas counties at an elevated COVID-19 community level fell by two as of Thursday.
The CDC’s latest update indicates Norton, Phillips, Smith, Osborne, Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Woodson, Allen, Neosho and Labette counties are at medium as of April 6.
The remaining 95 counties are at low, and zero are at high.
CDC officials update the metric weekly on Thursdays based on data for new cases and hospitalizations per 100,000 individuals and the average percentage of COVID-occupied staffed hospital beds.
Though the CDC has reduced masking guidance, those at greater risk for severe illness are recommended to mask in public in counties at medium, and masking is suggested for all individuals in counties at high.
Several counties at medium last week, including one adjacent to Sedgwick County – Kingman – have returned to low this week.
COVID-19 in Sedgwick County
At a low COVID-19 community level, per the CDC, Sedgwick County is experiencing a moderate incident rate, KDHE reports. That means the county is seeing between 10 and 49 cases per 100,000 individuals.
According to the Sedgwick County Health Department, 83 positive test results were recorded from March 30 to April 5, a slight uptick from the prior seven-day period.
The county’s positivity rate as of April 6 was 6.27%. That rate is a 14-day rolling average, according to the department. You can explore more local data using the county’s COVID-19 dashboard below.