What are kids’ COVID-19 rates in Johnson, Wyandotte counties? Kansas data released
As Kansas City area schools begin opening for virtual and in-person classes, Kansas health officials have released data by county and age group to guide local officials’ decisions. The results are mixed.
The rate at which Johnson County school-age children are testing positive for COVID-19 is under 10%. But the rate of new cases is worsening for those 17 years old and younger, according to the new school gating data.
Meanwhile, Wyandotte County is seeing an improvement in the rate of new cases. But one age group — 10-17 years old — is testing positive at a rate above 15%, according to the data.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has added the new school gating information to its website of COVID-19 data. The data corresponds to the guidance the Kansas Board of Education set earlier this month.
“The school gating data is intended for local health department and school officials to use as schools reopen and operations resume,” said Kristi Zears, a spokeswoman for KDHE. “We also hope the public will use this data to help inform their understanding of how COVID-19 is impacting their community.”
The data is broken down by county and by age groups and allows people to get “a finer sense of which age groups are being most affected,” including the location and age groups that are seeing increases in cases, Zears said.
The reopening of schools varies by district. In Johnson County, Spring Hill is the only district that will begin school before Labor Day.
Most districts have elementary students return to classrooms, some on hybrid basis model that includes in person part time and learning from home the rest of the week, unless their families opted for online classes. Older students will return online. The De Soto school board on Monday voted to bring all student back to classrooms part time.
In Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools have delayed the start of the school year until after Labor Day and will have nine weeks of online classes.
Both Turner and Piper school districts will begin the school year after Labor Day and will have hybrid and remote learning models.
The data includes the rate of new COVID-19 cases for each week per 100,000 people and the percent of positive cases for each week.
For instance, the rate of new cases for the week of Aug. 16 for the entire state of Kansas was improving overall. Each of the age groups also saw an improvement for that week.
Johnson County also experienced an improvement when it came to new cases as a county overall. But it saw the rate worsen in two age groups: those 0-9 years old and those 10-17 years old. It saw an improvement for those 18-24 years old.
Wyandotte County, on the other hand, saw an improvement in new case rates for those age groups as well as a county overall.
When it comes to the rate at which tests were coming back positive, Kansas had an overall rate of 7.6% for the week beginning Aug. 16. Meanwhile, Johnson County’s rate was 6.47% and Wyandotte County’s was 10.78%.
For the 0-9 years old age group:
- Kansas had a rate of 4.91%.
- Johnson County had a rate of 6.81%.
- Wyandotte County had a rate of 8.79%.
For the 10-17 years old age group:
- Kansas had a rate of 10.64%.
- Johnson County had a rate of 9.38%.
- Wyandotte County had a rate of 18.18%.
For the 18-24 years old age group:
- Kansas had a rate of 6.67%.
- Johnson County had a rate of 6.15%.
- Wyandotte County had a rate of 9.45%.
The data showing the percentage of students absent for each week were not yet available.
“These are great metrics to look at to gauge what’s occurring in your community,” Zears said. “If your community is doing well, it’s still important to take preventative and proactive measures, such as mask wearing and social distancing.”
