COVID-19 count in Douglas County rises to 31

photo by: Associated Press

COVID-19 test kits are prepared at the Genetworx clinical lab Wednesday March 25 , 2020, in Glen Allen, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Local health officials announced Thursday that 31 Douglas County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began, an increase of one from the previous day.

There are 21 cases believed to have been contracted through travel, five from local transmission and four from contact with someone with a positive case. One case is still under investigation for type of transmission.

The 31 local cases involve two people in their late teens, 11 people in their 20s, 10 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 Thursday afternoon. Of those cases, 15 are men and 16 are women, the health department said.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced that, as of 11 a.m. Thursday, a total of 552 Kansas residents had tested positive for the new coronavirus, including 13 deaths as a result of the disease.

KDHE’s online map noted that 711 Douglas County residents have been tested for the disease so far. The county’s testing rate per 1,000 people was 5.82, which was the second highest in the state following Coffey County, where there is an outbreak at a nursing home.

A daily update from LMH Health announced that, as of 7:30 a.m. Thursday, there was one patient at Lawrence’s hospital with COVID-19 and four 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 587 COVID-19 specimens total as of Thursday, and 28 of those specimens had tested positive for the virus. On Wednesday alone, LMH Health collected 28 specimens.

In Douglas County, 70% of the specimens that have tested positive for COVID-19 were collected through LMH Health’s Respiratory Evaluation Center, according to LMH Health’s news release on Thursday.

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.