Eight cases of COVID-19 UK variant discovered in Sedgwick County
Kansas public health officials have identified eight new cases of the UK variant of COVID-19 in Sedgwick County.
The cases, all found in the same household, bring the total number of UK variant cases in the state to 10, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Monday.
The first two cases in the state were found last month, one in Ellis County and a second in Sedgwick.
Last week, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced that the California and UK variants had been detected at the Kansas City wastewater treatment center.
KDHE Secretary Lee Norman said Tuesday that it was “disturbing” to find the eight new variant cases in Sedgwick County, which all came from a multi-generational family.
“I’m sure that’s just the tip of an iceberg for that region and really probably for the state,” Norman said, speaking during a media briefing hosted by the University of Kansas Health System.
Norman said Kansas is expanding wastewater surveillance testing for the variants, which requires whole genome sequencing.
While Kansas has now had 10 confirmed cases of the U.K. variant, the state has not had any known cases of other coronavirus strains. Variants from South Africa and Brazil have been identified elsewhere in the United States.
“These variants seem to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, which may lead to more cases of COVID-19,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “An increase in the number of cases will put more strain on health care resources, lead to more hospitalizations, and potentially more deaths.”
Norman and Sedgwick County Health Director Adrienne Byrne urged Kansans to continue wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and getting COVID-19 tests.
This story was originally published March 1, 2021 at 3:47 PM.
