The Golden Belt saw more area locations on the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s COVID-19 cluster report this week, with clusters reported in Pawnee, Ellsworth, Rush and Russell counties.
Every Wednesday, KDHE publishes the names of locations that have five or more COVID-19 cases with symptom onset in the last 14 days. For the Golden Belt, these were:
• Ellsworth Correctional Facility, 10 cases, last onset date Jan. 15
• Larned State Hospital, 14 cases, last onset date Jan. 12
• Rush County Memorial Hospital ISB Unit, La Crosse, 11 cases, last onset date Jan. 15
• Russell Regional Hospital, 12 cases, last onset date Jan. 14
• La Crosse USD 395 School, nine cases, last onset date Jan. 13
Also of area interest, Hutchinson Correctional Facility had 23 cases and the last onset date was Jan. 17.
Kansas overview
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Kansas has had 660,599 COVID-19 cases to date, resulting in 17,775 hospitalizations and 7,290 statewide deaths. There were 39,326 new cases, 151 new hospitalizations and 128 new deaths reported since Friday, Jan. 14. These include four new deaths in the Golden Belt.
Here are the total cases for area counties as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, with any change since Friday, Jan. 14:
• Barton 5,467 (+303)
• Ellsworth 1,807 (+67)
• Pawnee 1,830 (+58)
• Rice 2,216 (+110)
• Rush 726 (+54)
• Russell 1,679 (+71)
• Stafford 1,004 (+64)
Area deaths
The last area deaths attributed to COVID-19 prior to Wednesday were on Jan. 7. Here are the death totals for area counties as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, with any change:
• Barton 74 (+2)
• Ellsworth 30
• Pawnee 21
• Rice 17
• Rush 17 (+1)
• Russell 34
• Stafford 25 (+1)
Hospitalizations
The Great Bend Tribune also reports on COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Barton, Pawnee and Stafford counties.
• As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, Barton County has reported 164 hospitalizations attributed to COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic, including 31 intensive care unit (ICU) admissions to date, and 109 discharged patients reported to KDHE. This reflects two new hospital admissions and two dismissals since Jan. 14. The median age of COVID-19 patients admitted this month is 83.
• Pawnee County has reported 72 hospital admissions, 15 ICU admissions and 48 discharged patients to date. This reflects one new hospital admission since Jan. 14. The median age of COVID-19 patients admitted this month is 93.
• Stafford County has reported 36 hospital admissions, 15 ICU admissions and 20 discharged patients to date. These numbers have not changed since Jan. 5.
Vaccinations and state rankings
To date, 47.99% of Barton County residents age 5 years and older have received the full series of COVID-19 vaccinations. Here are the percentages for other area counties:
• Ellsworth 55.73
• Pawnee 54.22
• Rice 44.86
• Rush 50.71
• Russell 46.27
• Stafford 48.24
Kansas counties are ranked from 1 to 105, with the county that has the lowest COVID-19 risk ranked No. 1 and the county that has the highest risk ranked No. 105. These rankings are based on three COVID measures: vaccination rate, average number of COVID cases and average number of COVID tests given.
Here are the latest rankings for area counties:
• Barton 70
• Ellsworth 56
• Pawnee 18
• Rice 74
• Rush 50
• Russell 79
• Stafford 48
