Kansas’ COVID-19 positive test rate is 6th highest in the U.S., Norman says
Kansas’ positive test rate for the new coronavirus is 10.3%, making it the 6th highest in the U.S., the state’s top health official said Wednesday.
That’s compared to the national average of 5.8% for tests that come back positive for COVID-19, Lee Norman, secretary for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said during a news conference.
The state’s case rate, meanwhile, is 108 per 100,000, making it the 16th highest across the country, Norman said. The average throughout the U.S. is 93 per 100,000.
“That shows we have some work to do in terms of bringing those numbers down,” he said.
As of Wednesday, Kansas reported 39,937 infections, including more than 2,200 hospitalizations and 437 deaths. Since Monday, the state has seen an increase of more than 1,500 infections and 11 deaths.
The state is now getting a weekly report from the White House, Norman said, and its officials are starting to use data to compare Kansas to other states.
About 30% of Kansas’ 105 counties, Norman said, are in the “red” or “yellow” categories for community spread. The “green” category, he said, is “what we strive for.”
“It again shows that there is vast differences even throughout the state of Kansas,” he said.
Norman also said dropping school sports would reduce the risk of spreading the virus, but that extracurricular activities may be necessary to maintain students’ mental health.
“The public health advice I think that I would give is that this would be a ‘gap year’ for doing anything that’s truly optional and stick with the things that are truly essential for schools,” he said. “From a public health perspective, there’s no question we would reduce the risk of disease transmission were we not to have those (sports).”
In the Kansas City metro region, which includes Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, 28,909 residents have been infected and 395 have died to date.
As of Wednesday, Missouri reported 78,062 infections and 1,449 deaths. The overall positive test rate was 8.3%, while the seven-day positive test rate was 12.2%.
