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Barton County confirms five more COVID-19 deaths
128 new cases reported in five days
covid-19 Barton

Barton County Public Health reports there have been 1,056 positive cases of COVID-19 in the county, resulting in 12 deaths. The report, as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, is an increase of five deaths and 128 new cases since the last report at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5.

According to a news release from County Administrator Phil Hathcock, the additional deaths were counted after receiving the required documentation. (Not all of the deaths occurred after Nov. 5).

This brings the county’s total COVID-19 cases for the year to 1,056 and 238 of those were active Tuesday.

The new cases included 54 males and 74 females. Ten reside in Claflin, three in Ellinwood, 77 in Great Bend, eight in Hoisington, two in Olmitz and 29 in rural Barton County. The total number of cases to date in Pawnee Rock was revised to six, although previously it was seven.

To date, Barton county has issued 4,872 quarantine or isolation orders and 632 of those remain active.


Where the cases are

The residence of people with positive cases to date, followed by the total cases and the number of cases currently active, follows:

Claflin - 31 - 18

Ellinwood - 113 - 10

Great Bend - 613 - 160

Hoisington - 100 - 21

Olmitz - 7 - 4

Pawnee Rock - 6 - 0

Rural Barton County - 186 - 25


Updated hours at Health Department

In order to more efficiently serve the citizens of Barton County, the Barton County Health Department has updated the scheduled hours for services which may be found atwww.bartoncounty.org on the Health Department tab. Immunization forms* are available at the same website to pre-fill and speed up wait time.

Services for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program will remain the same, with no changes.

The schedule:

Monday - No public health services

Tuesday - Healthy Living Lab and TB Skin Testing, walk-ins from 7:30-11 a.m.

Wednesday - Family Planning - Annual Exams only, by appointment only (call 620-793-1902) from 7:30-11 a.m.

Wednesday - COVID-19 Drive-Through Testing from 9 a.m. to noon - No appointment needed

Thursday - Immunizations*, Family Planning refills and TB skin test reading, walk-ins from 4-7 p.m.

Friday - Immunizations*, Family Planning refills and TB skin test readings, walk-ins from 7:30-11 a.m.


Statewide

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov) reports that as of 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9, there have been 103,553 COVID-19 cases, resulting in 4,138 hospitalizations and 1,181 deaths statewide this year. There were 5,920 new cases, 15 new deaths and 71 new hospitalizations since Friday, Nov. 6.

The KDHE website also shows more Barton County residents have been hospitalized with COVID-19. To date, there have been 45 reported hospitalizations, including 10 intensive care unit admissions and five patients placed on mechanical ventilation. Twenty-eight patients have been dismissed. The numbers are as reported by health-care providers and local health departments into the electronic disease surveillance system, EpiTrax. The number of discharged patients only includes cases with available discharge information reported to KDHE.

Those hospitalized were in the following age groups:

- 0-9 years, 1

- 25-34 years, 2

- 45-54 years, 4

- 55-64 years, 14

- 65-74 years, 12

- 75-84 years, 6

- 85+ years, 6


School Gating Metrics

KDHE’s data on School Gating Metrics: Trend in Incidence Rate, shows the number of new cases per week per 100,00 population has been increasing in Barton County for most weeks since Aug. 30. The last two weeks shown were trending upward: The week beginning Oct. 25 showed 99 new cases, a county rate of 384.0 per 100,000, and the week beginning Nov. 1 showed 167 new cases, a rate of 647.8 per 100,000.

These trends showed an increase in all age groups in Barton County for the week beginning Nov. 1:

0-9 years - 6 new cases

10-17 - 9

18-24 - 16

25-34 - 22

35-44 - 17

45-54 - 18

55-64 - 35

65-74 - 24

75-84 - 14

85+ - 6

All but four Kansas counties showed greater than 151 new cases per 100,000 population for the two-week period from Oct. 25 through Nov. 7. (The only counties below this level were Jewell, Lincoln, Comanche and Chautauqua). Barton County had 266 new cases for this period, or 1,032 per 100,00 population.

Barton County had 662 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests for COVID-19 during this period; 492 were negative and 170 were positive, for a positive rate of 25.68%.


Great Bend USD 428 

Great Bend USD 428 shows reports of COVID-19 incidents related to the school district on its website, greatbendschool.net. Here are the latest posts:

• Thursday, Nov. 5, a student at Eisenhower Elementary School tested positive. Eleven additional student quarantines were expected for close contact. 

• Friday, Nov. 6, a staff member at the District Education Center tested positive. Additional quarantines were to be determined.

• Sunday, Nov. 8, a staff member at Riley Elementary tested positive; four additional student quarantines were expected.

• Monday, Nov. 9, a staff member who works at both Great Bend Middle School and Lincoln Elementary, tested positive, impacting both schools. Five students were expected to receive quarantine orders.

• Monday, a student at GBMS tested positive; 12 additional student quarantines expected.

• Monday, a student at Great Bend High School tested positive; no student quarantines expected.

• Monday, another student at GBHS tested positive; no student quarantines expected.



CDC news

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday reported there have been 9.9 million COVID-19 cases in the United States since Jan. 21, resulting in 237,037 deaths.