Kansas exceeds 1,000 cases of COVID-19 as lawmakers revoke limits on church activity
More than 1,000 Kansans have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus and 38 people have died from it, state health officials announced Wednesday.
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, state data showed that Kansas had confirmed 1,046 cases of COVID-19. The number represented a 16% increase in positive cases of the virus since Tuesday.
Of the more than 10,000 people tested for the virus in the state, about 10% tested positive, according to Kansas Department of Health and Environment data.
At least 23 of the reported cases of COVID-19 came from the Lansing Correctional Facility, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. The first COVID-19 cases were confirmed among staff members last week. Now, the prison is confirming eight 11 cases among staff members and 12 among residents. Eight new cases were confirmed Wednesday.
Nearly half the state’s cases were reported in Johnson and Wyandotte counties, where the state has confirmed 489 cases.
More than a quarter of the state’s deaths have been reported in Wyandotte County, where six deaths were reported in the same rehabilitation center.
According to Janell Friesen, the county health department spokeswoman, every fatality in the county thus far has been 60 or older.
Seven women in the county have died from the virus this week, Friesen said in an email to The Star.
The number of confirmed cases in the state has been steadily rising.
Speaking to lawmakers Wednesday Kansas Secretary of Health and Environment Lee Norman said the state has seen the virus spread in 12 clusters — three of which are related to churches.
Tuesday, Gov. Laura Kelly announced church services would be restricted to no more than 10 people. Lawmakers revoked that order Wednesday after the state’s attorney general directed police departments not to enforce it in concern for religious liberty.
Nationwide, the rapidly spreading virus has infected more than 419,000 people and killed more than 14,000 according to a database maintained by Johns Hopkins University.
The Star’s Jonathan Shorman contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 4:14 PM.
