photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

Nov. 4 COVID-19 update from the health department

Douglas County reported 3,116 cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday, an increase of 65 cases since Tuesday. Lawrence’s hospital, LMH Health, also reported 11 inpatients with COVID-19, the highest number of COVID-19 inpatients the hospital had seen since the start of the pandemic.

George Diepenbrock, spokesperson for Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, said that as cases have been increasing in the state and communities surrounding Douglas County, the health department saw the potential for local numbers to also increase.

“In recent days, we have seen this realization along with a higher level of COVID-19 positive hospitalizations,” Diepenbrock wrote. “All of these trends are a reminder for people to redouble their efforts about mask wearing, spreading out and keeping your circle of contacts small.”

In the daily update, Diepenbrock also said the health department has been noticing a “concerning trend” of individuals not staying at home while awaiting COVID-19 test results and thus putting the community at risk.

The county has averaged about 22 new cases per day over the last 14 days, according to a 14-day moving average graph updated weekdays by the health department. The current average of 21.79 new cases per day is down from a high of 46 cases per day in early September and up from a recent low of 17 cases per day in mid-October.

In Douglas County, 2,739 out of the 3,116 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, meaning 377 cases are active.

Eleven patients at Lawrence’s hospital had COVID-19 on Wednesday, two more than Tuesday. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s online map noted that 34,672 Douglas County residents had been tested for the disease so far. The county’s testing rate per 1,000 people was 283.6.