More than two-thirds of the people dying of COVID-19 in Wyandotte County are black
More than two-thirds of the people dying from COIVD-19 in Wyandotte County are black, according to newly released data by county health officials.
Although black residents make up about 23% of the county’s population, they account for more than half of the people testing positive for the coronavirus.
The data mirrors what is being seen across the Kansas City metro and the United States.
In total as of Thursday there were 15 new cases of people testing positive for the coronavirus in Wyandotte County, bringing the county’s total to 377 confirmed cases, according to data released by health officials Thursday. That’s up from 362 cases, reported 24 hours earlier.
The number of people who have died from complications relating to COVID-19 remained at 31, which was unchanged from Wednesday.
In neighboring Johnson County, the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus rose to 343 cases, an increase of 11 in the past 24 hours, according to statistics local health officials released Thursday morning.
The number of deaths related to COVID-19 climbed to 22, up from 19 on Wednesday.
Both Johnson County and Wyandotte County have seen a disproportionate number of black residents testing positive for the virus.
“Protecting and supporting underserved communities that already suffer from inequitable health outcomes and higher than average levels of chronic disease is more important than ever in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Allen Greiner, Chief Medical Officer with the Unified Government Public Health Department, in a release.
The data shows that Hispanic residents in Wyandotte County, while making up 28% of the county’s population, account for 15% of the people testing positive for the virus.
That doesn’t mean there’s a lower proportion of COVID-19 illnesses in the Hispanic community, officials said. Rather, county health officials suspect that’s due to a lower proportion of Hispanic residents being tested for COVID-19.
“We want to ensure that every individual in Wyandotte County, across every population in our diverse community is both capable of and comfortable with reporting symptoms and seeking out COVID-19 testing,” Greiner said.
The Unified Government Public Health Department has formed a Health Equality Task Force, which will meet for the first time Tuesday evening. Some of the group’s first goals include expanding testing accessibility and creating a clearer follow-up plan after residents get tested.
More numbers for Wyandotte and Johnson counties
The number of self-reported probable positive cases in Wyandotte County climbed to 206, up from 190 cases on Wednesday. County health officials have said that it’s likely those people, who have not been tested, have the COVID-19 disease based on the symptoms they reported.
People who are deemed to be probable positive cases should isolate themselves at home just as if they had tested positive for the disease.
The number of patients hospitalized remained the same at 42.
In Johnson County, the number of tests conducted totaled 3,353, with a little more than 10 percent returning positive.
A total of 107 patients have been hospital, while 184 have been treated as outpatients. Forty-five patients have needed ICU care, according to the data. There currently are 74 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and another 49 patients under investigation.
Statewide, there were nearly 1,500 people in Kansas testing positive for the coronavirus and 76 people who have died from COVID-19.
