Kansas reports 39 more coronavirus cases, bringing total to 1,376, and six new deaths
Nearly 40 new positive cases and six new deaths of the new coronavirus in Kansas were reported by state health officials on Monday as new data released shows people of color are hit harder by the pandemic.
There are now at least 1,376 cases and 62 deaths across the state, according to numbers released by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. That’s up by about 3% from Sunday’s total of 1,337 cases. There were a total of 56 deaths reported on Sunday.
There have been 309 hospitalizations.
The median age of those infected is 54 years old.
Blacks in Kansas are testing positive at a rate of 103.67 per 100,000 people compared to whites at 28.84.
The death rate for blacks is 10.55 per 100,000 people compared to 1.13 per 100,000 whites.
Just more than a quarter of the cases did not report or are missing race data.
Statewide data shows that Hispanics and Latinos test positive at a rate of 39.89 per 100,000 compared to those who are not Hispanic or Latino with a rate of about 31.99.
Almost a third of the cases have either not reported or are missing ethnicity data.
The numbers match national trends that show people of color are being hit much harder by the coronavirus pandemic.
Wyandotte County has the largest number of reported cases. It saw its first COVID-19 related death about a month ago and now has 337 cases, according to state numbers. There are 56 hospitalized patients and 28 people have died in the county.
At least a dozen of the county’s deaths were connected to the Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation Center, the state’s largest outbreak of COVID-19. Ninety residents and 20 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday afternoon, according to Wyandotte County’s health department.
In Johnson County, which has recorded the second highest number of cases, officials reported 309 cases, up from 300 Sunday. On Sunday, officials reported there have been a total of 14 deaths in the county.
Sedgwick County reported four new cases, bringing the total to 200.
Of the 13,864 Kansans tested, about 10% tested positive for COVID-19. As of Sunday, about 9% of the more than 45,000 people tested in Missouri had positive results.
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 2:53 PM.
