Shawnee County breaks record it had set the previous week for number of new COVID-19 cases
COVID-19 continues to smash records in Shawnee County.
The county saw 2,535 new COVID cases between Jan. 9 and 15, an increase of 25.5% over the record of 2,020 cases it saw the previous week, according to the county health department.
The county received a COVID score of 21 for last week, according to the community indicator report the health department posted online Thursday.
The county had also received a score of 21 the previous week, with scores of 0 to 24 being possible and scores of 17 to 24 being considered "high."
Shawnee County set a record last week when 29.8% of the COVID tests administered here turned out positive, compared to 25.7% the previous week, according to the health department.
The county's index measuring the stress level COVID is putting on local hospitals remained last week at its highest possible level of 3.0 on a scale of 2.1 to 3.0.
Topeka's Stormont Vail Health announced Wednesday on the COVID-19 daily updates page of its website that it was in the process of creating a temporary 16-bed transition unit in its joint center area.
"This initiative was developed to address current critical staffing issues," the hospital said. "It will allow us to manage acute care patients awaiting discharge to a post-acute care location while increasing our ability to accept other patients in need of a higher level of care. Yesterday we were unable to take 18 of 37 patient transfer requests."
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Work is underway to have the temporary transition unit open as early as next week, the hospital said.
"Patients must meet certain medical criteria to receive care in this area," it said. "This unit will provide hospital-level care, but with an emphasis on helping the patients prepare for discharge to a post-acute environment."
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Shawnee County KS again sets record for number of new COVID-19 cases
