KDHE reports COVID-19 outbreaks in 14 long term care facilities, fewer in meatpacking
Kansas’s largest source of COVID-19 outbreaks in the past two weeks is long term care facilities, according to newly released data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Two weeks after the state agency first released details on locations of case clusters, new data was posted Wednesday. Unlike the first set released, the new data detailed only gatherings that had resulted in five or more cases within the last 14 days. The number of cases reported in the last 14 days at each location was disclosed, not the number of cases since the outbreak began.
Fourteen long term care facilities were listed as meeting that criteria.
The data provided was altered after KDHE said last week it received “feedback” that the data originally released was misleading. The agency originally reported all cases that occurred during a COVID-19 outbreak and defined an outbreak as five or more cases within 28 days.
As a result, Secretary Lee Norman said, outbreaks could appear more severe than they currently were because clusters were kept on the list until they had no new cases in 28 days.
“We received feedback that the cumulative number was confusing,” Norman said at a briefing Wednesday. “We have gotten a handle on the cases in the last 14 days that are the most relevant and the most important for the people we are focusing on.”
The adjusted data removed five of the six meatpacking plants originally reported to have active outbreaks. The National Beef plant in Dodge City remained on the list with 20 reported cases in the last seven days.
National Beef is one of six COVID-19 clusters reported in Dodge City. Outbreaks were also reported within the city’s school district, community college and community college athletic team as well as at a church event and long term care facility.
Meatpacking plants were among the early locations of outbreaks when COVID-19 hit Kansas. Workers expressed concern over conditions that appeared to encourage the spread of the virus and make social distancing nearly impossible.
Other notable clusters included:
- Seven cases at Pittsburg State University
- 12 cases at the Shawnee County Adult Detention Center
- 11 cases at Kids TLC, a children’s mental and behavioral health center in Olathe
In total, active clusters were reported at 14 long term care facilities, four schools, three religious gatherings, two corrections facilities, two private businesses, two colleges and one sports organization. Details of the outbreaks can be found on KDHE’s website.
Alan Cobb of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, one of the organizations that pushed KDHE to change it’s data reporting, said in a statement Wednesday that the update better reflects current data.
“is important that the information KDHE releases is accurate as well as timely so Kansans can make well informed decisions for themselves and their families. We continue to advocate that KDHE provide businesses advance notice of publication with an opportunity to meaningfully respond. Additionally, the criteria for associating cases with locations needs to be clear, unambiguous, and not applied arbitrarily,” Cobb said.
Cobb and the Chamber originally urged KDHE not to report locations of clusters at all, calling it “public shaming” of companies.
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 1:44 PM.
