Kansas halts release of COVID-19 cluster details to public after just one week
Just one week after deciding to share the information with the public, Kansas officials temporarily halted the release of COVID-19 cluster data, saying they needed time to ensure that it is current.
Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Secretary Lee Norman said Wednesday his agency wants the outbreak numbers to reflect recent cases, not data that stretches back months.
Information initially released, he said, could give the impression that some outbreaks are currently more severe than they are.
KDHE said in a statement that it is “assessing ways in which we can report this information in a way that reflects current COVID-19 case increases.” The agency said it anticipates releasing updated cluster locations next Wednesday.
“If there’s old info from March and April but it’s still going on then that’s not a material risk to those people,” Norman said. “It’s important that people have actionable and recent, current, contemporary information to make choices on.”
The agency, Norman said, is altering the timelines and thresholds that cause an organization to appear on the cluster list.
The data was released last week despite concerns voiced by Kansas business leaders, who urged the state to keep cluster locations confidential.
“We are unsure what the benefit of this disclosure offers, other than a public shaming of businesses where an outbreak occurs,” Kansas Chamber President and CEO Alan Cobb said in a statement last week.
In an email Wednesday, Kansas Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Communications Sherriene Jones-Sontag said the chamber expressed additional concerns to KDHE when “it was discovered there were issues with the data.”
Prior to Sept. 9, Kansas had kept details on the location of coronavirus clusters under wraps, available only to state and local health officials. Public data revealed what types of gatherings resulted in clusters, specifying what proportion came from churches, schools and businesses. The names and locations of those entities, however, were shielded.
When Kansas released detailed cluster information for the first time last week, Norman said he hoped the transparency would help Kansans make daily decisions.
“We believe this information is important for the public health and to serve the public,” Norman said.
Last week, institutions with more than five cases in the last 28 days appeared on the state’s list of clusters. Private businesses would only appear if there are 20 or more cases. Once there are no new cases for 28 days, he said, clusters were to be removed from the list.
The list released last week revealed continuing outbreaks at meatpacking plants as well as clusters related to colleges and universities, 26 long-term care facilities, six health care facilities and four religious gatherings.
The list cited 2,148 cases linked to six meatpacking plants including Triumph Foods in St. Joseph, National Beef in Dodge City and Liberal, Cargill, Elkhorn Valley Packing in Harper and Sugar Creek Packing in Frontenac.
Other notable clusters included:
Seven Kansas State University Greek houses
Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Pittsburg State University and Benedictine College
The K-State and University of Kansas football teams
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 5:28 PM.
