Kansas coronavirus numbers climb to 36, including in four new counties
Thirty-six cases of the new coronavirus have been identified in Kansas, with patients now in a dozen counties —four more counties than the day before, state health officials said Thursday.
Cherokee, Jackson, Linn and Morris counties have reported their first COVID-19 cases, according to an update Thursday from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Johnson County, where the state’s first case was found March 7, has the most patients at 16. Officials said Wednesday community spread was present in the county.
The state’s 36 cases includes a patient in Ford County and a patient in Miami County, who are out-of-state residents.
To contain the spread of the virus, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has suspended gatherings of more than 50 people and ended the school semester for K-12 students.
Those measures came as more than 10,750 people in the U.S. have been infected. Worldwide, more than 235,000 cases have been reported and more than 9,700 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 2:29 PM.
