Saline County's COVID new cases flat; Kansas cases surge 52.5%
New coronavirus cases leaped in Kansas in the week ending Sunday, rising 52.5% as 3,063 cases were reported. The previous week had 2,008 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Kansas ranked 41st among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 11.3% from the week before, with 702,236 cases reported. With 0.88% of the country's population, Kansas had 0.44% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 32 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Saline County reported 24 cases and two deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 24 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 14,207 cases and 250 deaths.
Within Kansas, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Lyon County with 223 cases per 100,000 per week; Miami County with 187; and Johnson County with 184. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were Johnson County, with 1,108 cases; Sedgwick County, with 439 cases; and Shawnee County, with 224. Weekly case counts rose in 63 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Johnson, Sedgwick and Shawnee counties.
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Kansas ranked 25th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 74.5% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77.7%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.
In the week ending Wednesday, Kansas reported administering another 23,225 vaccine doses, including 3,052 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 23,664 vaccine doses, including 3,065 first doses. In all, Kansas reported it has administered 4,614,579 total doses.
Across Kansas, cases fell in 23 counties, with the best declines in Douglas County, with 178 cases from 276 a week earlier; in Wilson County, with -4 cases from 4; and in Montgomery County, with 0 cases from 6.
In Kansas, 136 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 83 people were reported dead.
A total of 786,663 people in Kansas have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 8,939 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 83,984,644 people have tested positive and 1,004,733 people have died.
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Kansas's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, May 29.
Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
Last week: 434
The week before that: 380
Four weeks ago: 350
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
Last week: 55,952
The week before that: 52,036
Four weeks ago: 41,964
Hospitals in 34 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 33 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 35 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Saline County reported 24 additional COVID-19 cases this week
