Forty-two new cases of coronavirus reported in Kansas as JoCo seeks more testing
Forty-two more cases of the new coronavirus were confirmed in Kansas Thursday, state health officials announced.
The announcement brings Kansas to 169 positive cases of COVID-19 with new cases in Johnson, Wyandotte, Leavenworth and Douglas counties and the first cases in Shawnee, Sumner and Woodson counties.
Three people in the state have died from the disease.
With roughly two-thirds of the positive results coming from tests in private labs, more than 3,000 Kansas residents have now been tested for the rapidly spreading virus.
Roughly 5.5% of those tested had the virus, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s daily update.
According to the report, patients who tested positive for the virus ranged from 7 to 90 years old.
Twenty-two of the new cases were found in Wyandotte and Johnson counties, where the disease is most widespread.
In Johnson County, where testing was reduced when the virus was determined to be spreading through community transmission last week, the board of commissioners voted Thursday to start a study of how much it would cost for the county to pay for more testing from private labs.
Currently, the county health department only suggests testing for people with symptoms severe enough to require hospitalization. Experts and health officials, however, have said widespread testing is necessary to understand the scope of the problem.
In Missouri, 502 cases have been confirmed by state health officials. Eight people have died from the virus in the state.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 3:38 PM.
