Douglas County COVID-19 count remains at 31

photo by: Associated Press

In this Wednesday, March 11, 2020 file photo, a technician prepares COVID-19 coronavirus patient samples for testing at a laboratory in New York's Long Island. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The number of Douglas County residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began remains at 31, local health officials announced Friday.

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 Friday afternoon press release. 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. Friday, a total of 620 Kansas residents had tested positive for the new coronavirus, including 17 deaths as a result of the disease.

KDHE’s online map noted that 724 Douglas County residents have been tested for the disease so far. The county’s testing rate per 1,000 people was 5.92, 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 8:30 a.m. Friday, there was one patient at Lawrence’s hospital with COVID-19 and five 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 617 COVID-19 specimens total as of Friday, and 28 of those specimens had tested positive for the virus. On Thursday alone, LMH Health collected 25 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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