photo by: Associated Press

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly speaks to reporters about the coronavirus pandemic during a news conference, Monday, July 6, 2020, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly prepared Wednesday to announce new measures designed to control the spread of the coronavirus in Kansas as the state again reported another record seven-day increase in new cases.

Kelly’s news conference Wednesday afternoon was to come only hours after state health department data showed that Kansas averaged 2,767 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases a day for the seven days ending Wednesday. That’s slightly above the previous record of 2,741, for the seven days ending Monday.

The state added 5,853 cases to its pandemic total since Monday, increasing it to 128,594. The state reported 60 new COVID-19-related deaths over two days, making the total 1,326.

The Democratic governor has promised publicly that she won’t shut down businesses statewide again, as she did for five weeks in the spring. The Republican-controlled Legislature also forced her in June to accept local control over mask mandates, restrictions on businesses and limits on public gatherings.

Kelly issued a statewide mask mandate in July, but state law allowed the 105 counties in Kansas to opt out, and most did. However, in the past two weeks, at least a dozen counties have tightened their coronavirus restrictions as cases have surged.