30 Douglas County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 so far

photo by: Associated Press

Lawrence Memorial Hospital personnel wait for the next patient to arrive for a drive-thru virus test In Lawrence, Kan., Thursday, March 26, 2020. Tests are by appointment only. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Local health officials announced Wednesday that 30 Douglas County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began, an increase of four from the previous day.

The number of cases believed to have been contracted locally dropped from five to four since Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health’s daily update Tuesday, while the number of travel-related cases increased from 18 to 20. Three cases are still under investigation for type of transmission, the health department said Wednesday, and it listed three cases under a new category for people who tested positive after close contact with a previous positive case in the county.

The 30 local cases involve two people in their late teens, 11 people in their 20s, nine people in their 30s, four people in their 40s, two people in their 50s, one person in his or her 60s and one person in his or her 70s, according to a news release Wednesday afternoon. Of those cases, 15 are men and 15 are women, the health department said.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced that, as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, a total of 482 Kansas residents had tested positive for the new coronavirus, including ten deaths as a result of the disease.

In a new online map released Wednesday, KDHE noted that 661 Douglas County residents have been tested for the disease so far. The county’s testing rate per 1,000 people was 5.41, which was among the highest in the state, the KDHE data showed.

A daily update from LMH Health announced that, as of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, there was one patient at Lawrence’s hospital with COVID-19 and seven others who were under investigation for the virus. The patient with the confirmed case was from Leavenworth County, the hospital said.

LMH Health had collected 517 COVID-19 specimens total as of Wednesday, and 27 of those specimens had tested positive for the virus. On Tuesday alone, LMH Health collected 35 specimens.

More coverage: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

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What to do if you think you may have COVID-19

Patients who have symptoms — difficulty breathing, cough and fever — should stay home, immediately isolate themselves from others and call their health care providers. Patients should never show up unannounced at a medical office or hospital. Instead, they should call ahead to explain their symptoms and give health care workers the ability to minimize the risk to others.

If patients do not have health care providers, they may call the Lawrence Douglas-County health department’s coronavirus line, 785-856-4343.

For updated information on the outbreak, Kansas residents can email COVID-19@ks.gov or call 866-534-3463 (866-KDHEINF), which is staffed 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

More information can be found through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s website or the Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health website.

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