Kansas reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 4,401 new cases. That’s down 23.2% from the previous week’s tally of 5,734 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Kansas ranked 15th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 4.7% from the week before, with 507,209 cases reported. With 0.88% of the country’s population, Kansas had 0.87% of the country’s cases in the last week. Across the country, three states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
The Labor Day holiday may have altered how many people can get tested and when, and when governments report testing results and deaths. This will skew week-to-week comparisons.
Saline County reported 111 cases and one death in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 131 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 15,864 cases and 250 deaths.
Across Kansas, cases fell in 72 counties, with the best declines in Douglas County, with 0 cases from 225 a week earlier; in Johnson County, with 625 cases from 801; and in Shawnee County, with 265 cases from 416.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Within Kansas, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Lane County with 456 cases per 100,000 per week; Crawford County with 397; and Cowley County with 361. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were Sedgwick County, with 939 cases; Johnson County, with 625 cases; and Shawnee County, with 265. Weekly case counts rose in 26 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week’s pace were in Harper, Crawford and Sumner counties.
In Kansas, 10 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 61 people were reported dead.
A total of 869,254 people in Kansas have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 9,029 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 95,250,705 people have tested positive and 1,050,323 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
Kansas’s COVID-19 hospital admissions rising
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Sept. 11. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
- Last week: 656
- The week before that: 604
- Four weeks ago: 709
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
- Last week: 60,585
- The week before that: 61,376
- Four weeks ago: 69,436
Hospitals in 16 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 22 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 19 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.
