photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department

Eight hundred and four new cases of COVID-19 have been reported to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health since Wednesday. That’s on top of 727 new cases reported between Monday and Wednesday, bringing the four-day total to 1,531, a record high.

The cumulative case count for the county now stands at 16,906, according to the health department, including 112 deaths, since the pandemic began in March 2020.

The county currently has 2,956 active cases of COVID-19, including 24 inpatients at LMH Health, as of Friday. Hospital officials in Lawrence and throughout the state have been pleading with the public to get vaccinated as the COVID-19 virus sweeps through the community and puts severe stress on hospital staff and resources.

All individuals age 5 and up are eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations, and local health officials have urgently pressed for all eligible residents to be vaccinated and to get booster shots. All adults 18 and older, and all people 12 and older who received the Pfizer vaccine, are eligible for booster shots.

To get your free booster shot, visit www.ldchealth.org. For questions or help registering, call 785-843-0721. Booster shots are also widely available at various pharmacies and doctors’ offices throughout the county and are strongly urged by medical professionals.

According to the health department, 71,953 people, or 63% of Douglas County’s eligible population, have completed two doses of the vaccine, and 33,242, or 31.3%, have received a booster.

Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health leaders reinstated a countywide mask mandate this week for people age 2 and older. They said they would consider doing so if more than 50 new cases per day were being added in the community, using the 14-day moving average, which is currently at 142.

LMH Health has said that the omicron variant of COVID-19 is highly contagious and spreading rapidly. It noted that the CDC expects that anyone with omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms; breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated are likely to occur.

Boosters are increasingly important, LMH Health said, as studies are showing that a third dose gives people the best chance of preventing an omicron infection this winter.