photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

Jan. 11 COVID-19 update from the health department

Douglas County reported 7,233 cases of COVID-19 as of Monday, an increase of 187 cases since Friday.

In Douglas County, 6,073 out of the 7,233 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, meaning 1,160 cases are active.

The county has averaged about 64 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 64.43 new cases per day is down from a recent high of 78 cases per day in mid-November and up from a recent low of 43 cases per day in December.

The 14-day moving average of new cases has increased in the past week.

“Our disease investigators are identifying trends from activities related to end of the year celebrations,” the health department wrote in its update on Monday.

Douglas County has a 14-day COVID-19 incidence rate of 749.86 per 100,000 people and a test positivity rate of 9%. Test positivity rates are 15.2% in Eudora, 13.3% in Lecompton, 8.5% in Baldwin City and 8.4% in Lawrence.

Seventeen patients at Lawrence’s hospital had COVID-19 on Monday, five fewer than Friday. To date, 36 Douglas County residents have died of COVID-19.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s online map noted that 51,757 Douglas County residents had been tested for the disease so far. The county’s testing rate per 1,000 people was 423.3.