Kansas announces 14 new deaths, 698 new COVID-19 cases since Monday

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WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 698 new COVID-19 cases statewide since Monday. The department also announced 14 new deaths, bringing the total to 349.

On Monday, the state announced the death of a 20-year-old due to the coronavirus – the youngest to date.

There were 56 new hospitalizations since Monday – bringing the total to 1,700. In Kansas hospitals, 84% of ventilators are available statewide. There are 951 ICU beds available and of the 364 in use, 83 are occupied by COVID-19 patients.

In Sedgwick County, there have been 46 new active cases since Monday and 60 new recoveries since Tuesday. There have been two deaths since Monday.

A new cluster at an assisted living facility was reported Tuesday. The county reported 15 cases at Avita Assisted Living and Memory Care, including 11 staff and four residents. Two residents have passed away. Nine of the 11 staff were reported to be asymptomatic.

Of the 284,949 tests performed statewide, 258,079 have come back negative. The number of tests coming back positive is at 9.4%.

KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman talked about the percentage of positive tests and the rate of new cases Kansas is seeing.

“You know, I hate to speak prematurely, but I’m getting a little bit more optimism because we’re seeing the rate of growth of new cases start to slow down a bit. Obviously, as we add on more cases, the total case number will start to go up. So, it’s the rate that we pay attention to and the rate is becoming more promising,” said Norman.

He said the state is still nowhere near where he wants it to be for COVID-19 numbers, but he thinks we are starting to see a glimmer of hope.