1,206 CONSIDERED ACTIVE CASES – 13 NEW DEATHS

By William

MCPHERSON – On Tuesday, January 12, 2021 the McPherson County Health Department released their latest Coronavirus/COVID-19 Report and it showed that the County has had an additional 113 new cases of the Coronavirus since the report they released on Thursday, January 7, 2021.  

Unfortunately, the number of deaths increased to 44, giving the County and additional 13 individuals that we lost since last Thursday.

Also, new gating numbers are in.

NOTES FROM MCPHERSON COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT:

“After discussing with key healthcare partners in our communities, we feel it is best to extend Phase 2 at least 2 more weeks due to continued demand and strain on our healthcare systems.”

“While our testing positivity rate has gone down, which is GREAT, but it still needs to keep moving that direction before we feel comfortable with moving to Phase 3.”

CASES TESTING POSITIVE & OTHER DATA #’S as of TUESDAY, JANUARY 12:

With the report on Tuesday, McPherson County has now recorded a total of 2,730 positive cases overall.

Of those 2,730 cases, 1,524 are now considered recovered according to the recovery guidelines set forth by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment or passed away while sick. This gives McPherson County 1,206 cases still considered active after you remove the confirmed individuals who have passed away from the coronavirus.

Thursday’s report also showed that McPherson County still had 18 individuals currently hospitalized due to the Coronavirus/COVID-19 and that the County has recorded an increase of 13 new deaths, giving the County a total of 44 overall.

UPDATED CASE DATA (# change since last report on Thursday, January 7):

  • New cases since last public release = 113
  • Asymptomatic Cases = 61 (no change)
  • Cases with an unknown exposure = 1,266 (+ 73)
  • Cases involving those individuals 60 years and older = 861 (+ 25)
  • Cases involving those individuals 50-59 years old = 374 (+ 8)
  • Cases involving those individuals 40-49 years old = 347 (+ 19)
  • Cases involving those individuals 30-39 years old = 338 (+ 16)
  • Cases involving those individuals 18-29 years old = 551 (+ 27)
  • Cases involving those individuals under 18 years old = 2259 (+ 18)
  • Female involved cases = 1,441 (+ 59)
  • Male involved cases = 1,289 (+ 54)
  • Those cases requiring Hospitalization (May not represent current hospitalizations) = 107 (+ 8)
  • Those cases requiring ventilation (May not represent any current ventilated cases) = 13 (+ 3)
  • Those cases resulting an individual’s death = 44 (+ 13)
  • Male COVID Patients who have died by age (total of 30): 86, 90, 96, 78, 90, 81, 66, 39, 91, 92, 52, 80, 30, 72, 82, 88, 85, 77, 89, 82, 78, 64, 85, 86, 48, 87, 92, 61, 85, and 80 (+ 7)
  • Female COVID Patients who have died by age (total of 14): 92, 89, 94, 66, 82, 91, 84, 90, 89, 81, 62, 83, 62, and 98 (+ 6)

SPECIAL NOTES AND INFORMATION:

The McPherson County Health Department will now be reporting case updates on Tuesday and Thursday of each week, beginning today, Tuesday, January 5, 2021.

The McPherson County Health Department is recommending that McPherson County remains in PHASE 2 REOPENING PLANS until Monday, January 11, 2021.

Delaying a move to Phase 3 by one week is to better grasp the case fallout from Christmas and New Year’s gatherings.

These plans can be found on the McPherson County website at www.mcphersoncountyks.us.

VACCINATION INFORMATION:

The COVID-19 Vaccine distribution is regulated at the federal and state level.

There is little to no warning of when doses may be received at local health departments at this time.

These is a statewide COVID-19 vaccination plan available at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment COVID-19 website, www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov.

There is also a graphic available that explains the anticipated vaccination availability schedule for Kansas on the KDHE COVID-19 website under ‘Kansas COVID-19 Vaccination Plan’.

The McPherson County Health Department will reach out to providers and entities as more information becomes available and as Kansas progresses through the vaccination phases.

We do not know at this time if it will be readily available for the general public at the McPherson County Health Department, area Hospitals, or at local Doctor offices.

Please continue to have patience with us as more information is passed down through the state. We do not have any control of when doses arrive or who they are prioritized for at this time and as soon as that information is available, the McPherson County Health Department will make it public.

QUARANTINE GUIDELINES FOR THOSE WITH CLOSE CONTACTS:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their quarantine recommendation in response to local circumstances and resources.

The KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) is supporting these recommendations but leaving it up to each Kansas County to decide what method they implement.

The McPherson County Health Department will be implementing the following protocols regarding quarantine and isolation for COVID-19:

  • Someone who is diagnosed with COVID-19 will be required to isolate for 10-days from symptom onset and may be released from isolation when they have isolated for 10-days AND have had significant symptom improvement AND have been 72-hours fever-free without any fever reducing medication.
  • Someone who is diagnosed with COVID-19 but are not having any symptoms are required to isolate for 10-days from their COVID-19 positive test date and may be released from isolation after they have been isolated for 10-days and have not developed any symptoms.
  • Someone who is identified as a CLOSE CONTACT (within six-feet for 10-minutes or longer) of a positive COVID-19 test case are required to quarantine for 10-days from the last exposure to the positive case.

REGARDING THE CLOSE CONTACT INDIVIDUALS:

  • If the close contact individual becomes symptomatic during quarantine, they should seek testing.
  • If the close contact individual does not become symptomatic by day seven (7) of their quarantine, they may seek PCR testing (not antigen testing) if they so wish. If their result comes back before their 10th day of quarantine and the test is negative, they may be released at that time. If the test comes back as positive, they must begin their own 10-day isolation as an asymptomatic case from their test date. (As per earlier recommendations)
  • If the close contact individual does not have symptoms and does not want to be tested or cannot find a location to get a PCR test – they are required to quarantine for 10-days.
  • If the close contact individual is a long-term care or assisted living resident, or an inmate of a state correctional facility, they are required by the KDHE to remain in quarantine for a full 14-days because of their high-risk living setting.

NOTE:

REGARDING & EVALUATING THE SCHOOL YEAR:

The McPherson County Health Department is working closely with key partners to evaluate the school year.

It is our goal to continue to keep the community informed.

The percent of positive cases out of how many McPherson County residents were tested during a 14-day period will facilitate the McPherson County Health Department recommendations.

Previously, the McPherson County Health Department would remove those being tested for preoperational reasons from the total number of those tested to better gauge the number of ill patients that were positive for COVID-19.

Starting September 11, the McPherson County Health Department will no longer remove preoperational tests from the number reported to represent community spread data more accurately.

The data reported below are not the only data that influences the recommendation to move to more-or-less restrictions.

Criteria that will influence the recommendation to move schools to more or less restrictive measures can be found on http://www.mcphersoncountyks.us on the home page under “COVID-19: Reopening McPherson County.”

Data has been updated to reflect the above-mentioned changes includes:

Dates               # New Positives          # Tested          % Positive       % Positive w/o Pre-Ops

6/19 to 7/12               22                        449                  4.89%              5.47%

7/13 to 7/26               30                        312                  9.61%              11.49%

7/27 to 8/9                 32                        311                  10.28%            12.64%

8/10 to 8/23               20                        282                  7.09%              8.62%

8/24 to 9/6                 38                        321                  11.83%            14.39%

9/7 to 9/20                  38                       419                  9.06%              10.10%

9/21 to 10/4                 21                      394                  5.32%              6.12%

10/5 to 10/18               62                      446                  13.90%            N/A

10/19 to 11/1               184                    575                  32.00%               N/A   

11/2 to 11/15              521                    1,227               42.46%               N/A

11/16 to 11/29           491                  918                  53.48%                        N/A    

11/30 to 12/13           493                  730                  67.53%                        N/A

12/14 to 12/27*         341                  832                  40.98%                        N/A

12/28 to 1/10*           300                  848                  35.37               N/A

*=Numbers may change as more results are reported to the McPherson County Health Department from those time periods.

(Editor’s Note) While some of the following information may seem repetitious, it is still incredibly important for people to continue reading, processing, and acknowledging the situation and severity of the coronavirus.

MCPHERSON COUNTY HAS RETURNED TO PHASE 2:

McPherson County has returned to Phase 2 of Reopening Kansas.

Updated documents can be found at http://www.mcphersoncountyks.us on the home page, under ‘COVID-19: Reopening McPherson County.’

McPherson County Health Department recommends McPherson County remains in Phase 2 at least until November 23rd, 2020.

McPherson County residents are encouraged to help slow the spread of coronavirus by:

  • Following Phase 2 of Reopening Kansas and McPherson County (www.mcphersoncountyks.us).
  • Maintaining social distancing.
  • Avoiding gatherings in groups greater than 15-persons.
  • Wearing cloth face coverings or homemade masks when in public.
  • Practicing cough etiquette and washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

CURRENT TRAVEL QUARANTINES GUIDELINES:

Both the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and the McPherson County Health Department have updated their listing of required quarantine after traveling out of state.

They continue to mandate a 10-day home quarantine for Kansans if you have done any of the following:

  • Attended/traveled to a mass gathering event (out-of-state) of 500 people or greater where individuals did not do six-foot distancing and wear face masks.
  • Traveled on a cruise ship or a river cruise.

{This McPherson County COVID-19 Update is SPONSORED by CrossDove Creations}

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