photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

Sept. 9 COVID-19 update from the health department

Douglas County has reported 1,772 cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday, an increase of 33 cases since Tuesday.

The county has averaged about 25 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 25 new cases per day is down from a recent high of 45 cases per day in late August and up significantly from a recent low of about nine cases per day in early August.

In Douglas County, 1,037 out of the 1,772 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.

As of Wednesday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s online map noted that 26,656 Douglas County residents had been tested for the disease. The county’s testing rate per 1,000 people was 218. Douglas County has the second-highest testing rate out of Kansas’ counties, following Ford County, which has a testing rate of 266.3 people per 1,000.

Six patients at Lawrence’s hospital had COVID-19 on Wednesday, ones less than Tuesday. Nine Douglas County residents have died thus far from COVID-19 or with the virus as a contributing factor in their deaths.