photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

Nov. 6 COVID-19 update from the health department

Douglas County reported 3,275 cases of COVID-19 as of Friday, an increase of 79 cases since Thursday.

The county has averaged about 28 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 28.21 new cases per day is down from a high of 46 cases per day in early September and up from a recent low of 18 cases per day in mid-October.

In Douglas County, 2,849 out of the 3,275 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, meaning 426 cases are active.

Eleven patients at Lawrence’s hospital had COVID-19 on Friday, one less than Thursday. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s online map noted that 35,050 Douglas County residents had been tested for the disease so far. The county’s testing rate per 1,000 people was 286.7.

In its weekly community scorecard, Douglas County hit two out of its five goals over the past week. Both the average weekly number of COVID-19 cases and the number of active COVID-19 cases increased instead of decreasing, which is the county’s goal. The county also had two high-risk outbreaks this week, and the goal is to have one or none. The county did hit the goals as relates to medical surge capacity: less than 40% of beds and 20% of ventilators were in use at LMH Health.

KU COVID-19 data

The University of Kansas has confirmed 37 more cases of COVID-19 since data was last released Tuesday, bringing the school’s cumulative case total to 1,158.

From Oct. 29 to Nov. 4, the most recent seven-day period for which data is available, KU confirmed 49 cases of COVID-19 from a total of 861 tests, a positive rate of 5.7%.

Douglas County, which tracks the rate of positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in KU’s dashboard updates, reported a metric increase Friday. On Tuesday, that rate was 124 cases per 100,000 residents, and on Friday it rose to 159 cases per 100,000 residents.

KU on Friday also released a new short-term forecast from its Pandemic Medical Advisory Team. The university’s model projects that in two weeks — in this case, by Nov. 20 — KU’s daily case count will sit at around seven new cases per day.