With more rural testing, Kansas has largest COVID-19 increase for third straight day
Kansas saw its largest single-day increase in confirmed cases of the new coronavirus for the third straight day.
On Friday, 295 more positive cases were reported, according to data provided by the Kansas Department of Health and the Environment.
The increase follows a trend in the state spurred by the clearing of a backlog of private lab cases and increased testing in rural counties where federal and state authorities suspected clusters of positive cases connected to the meatpacking industry.
The state saw an increase of 186 cases Wednesday and 271 Thursday. A roughly 11.8% jump in confirmed cases brought the state to at least 2,777 confirmed cases of COVID-19 Friday afternoon.
The state did not report any new deaths related to the virus but did find that one death previously reported was not caused by COVID-19, according to Kristi Zears, the KDHE spokeswoman.
Of the 295 new cases confirmed in Kansas, 210 were reported in Lyon, Ford, Finney and Seward counties, where state and federal officials have recently increased testing efforts.
In the Kansas City area, 46 new cases and three deaths were reported Friday morning in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.
Johnson County has 415 positive COVID-19 cases compared to 402 on Thursday morning. Eight new cases had been reported the day before.
Wyandotte County has 518 cases compared to 485 on Thursday. Four new cases were reported the day before.
Of the more than 23,500 Kansans tested for the virus, 11.8% were determined to be infected, according to KDHE data.
At least 457 of those infected have been hospitalized.
Nationwide, the virus has infected more than 883,000 and killed more than 50,000, according to a database maintained by Johns Hopkins University.
The Star’s Katie Moore contributed
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 1:42 PM.
