5 Kansas counties at CDC’s high COVID-19 community level this week. What to know
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put one more Kansas county at high COVID-19 community level since last week, making the total number of counties at high five.
Greeley, Wichita, Morton, Seward and Wilson counties are all at high COVID-19 community levels. Sedgwick County is still reported at low.
In counties at high, the federal agency recommends masking in public, indoor settings. For those at higher risk for severe illness, the masking recommendation also includes counties at medium.
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).
The number of medium-level counties dropped over the last week by two, going from 19 to 17.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment labeled Sedgwick County’s incident rate as “substantial,” meaning there are 50 to 99 cases per 100,000 individuals. Twenty-five Kansas counties are at “high,” meaning there are at least 100 cases per 100,000 people.
As of Friday, Sedgwick County has an 8.1% positive test rate, according to the local health department. The positive test 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.
Seven new cases were reported Thursday and 21 were reported Wednesday. There were 25 reported Jan. 27, which is the most reported in a single day within the last seven days.
The county’s positive test rate has remained under 10% since mid-December. The last time the county reached a 10% positive test rate was the week of Dec. 17.
To protect against COVID-19, wear a mask when necessary, avoid touching your nose and mouth, avoid large gatherings and physically distance from others when necessary.
