photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

Aug. 14 COVID-19 update from health department

Douglas County reported 29 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 812.

In Douglas County, 697 out of the 812 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.

The Douglas County Community Scorecard noted that there were no new 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 26 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 12 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 28 cases per day in early to mid-July. The current average of 12 cases per day is up from a recent low of about seven cases per day in early August.

Five patients at Lawrence’s hospital had COVID-19 on Friday, the same number as Thursday.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s online map noted that 13,787 Douglas County residents had been tested for the disease so far. The county’s testing rate per 1,000 people was 112.8.