photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

Aug. 7 COVID-19 update from the health department

Douglas County reported 18 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 714.

In Douglas County, 625 out of the 714 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.

The Douglas County Community Scorecard noted that there were two outbreaks of COVID-19 in Douglas County this past week. An outbreak is defined as two or more cases not from the same household with the same identified source of exposure. The scorecard also notes that 18 cases from this past week were due to community transmission: that is, the cases could not be linked to a known case, an outbreak or travel.

The county has averaged about nine new cases per day over the last seven days, according to a seven-day moving average graph updated weekdays by the health department. At its height, the average was about 26 cases per day in early to mid-July. The current average of nine cases per day is one of the lowest averages the county has seen since early July.

Five patients at Lawrence’s hospital had COVID-19 on Friday, two more than Thursday.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s online map noted that 12,326 Douglas County residents had been tested for the disease so far. The county’s testing rate per 1,000 people was 100.8.