photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

Oct. 26 COVID-19 update from the health department.

One more Douglas County resident has died from COVID-19, according to the health department’s Monday update about the virus.

Previously, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health announced that 17 people — five residents between the ages of 65 and 74, one resident between the ages of 75 and 84 and 11 residents age 85 or older — had died from COVID-19 or with the virus as a contributing factor in their deaths.

This week’s death was a male in the 85-plus age range who had been hospitalized at LMH Health at the time of his death, health department spokesperson George Diepenbrock said. In its daily update, LMH Health said the inpatient died on Sunday afternoon and that “our thoughts are with this patient’s loved ones as they navigate this difficult time.”

LMH Health also noted that inpatient numbers are higher than expected this week. There were nine COVID-19 patients being treated at LMH Health on Monday as of 8:30 in the morning. On Friday, the hospital had five inpatients with COVID-19.

Douglas County reported 2,839 cases of COVID-19 as of Monday, an increase of 43 cases since Friday.

The county has averaged about 14 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 14 new cases per day is down from a high of 46 cases per day in early September and up from a recent low of nine cases per day in early August. The health department reported that the county’s 14-day average positivity rate is at 4.5%. This percentage has been on a downward trend since early September, when it hit a high of 9.8%.

In Douglas County, 2,539 out of the 2,839 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, meaning 300 cases are active.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s online map noted that 33,426 Douglas County residents had been tested for the disease so far. The county’s testing rate per 1,000 people was 273.4.

photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

14-day moving average COVID-19 test positivity rate for Douglas County as of Oct. 26.