Decline noted in level of infectivity of coronavirus in Kansas
State health officials are noticing a decline in the level of infectivity of the coronavirus in Kansas.
The state’s testing strategy and masks are making a difference in the effective reproduction rate of the virus in Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly said at a news conference at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
If each person takes personal responsibility and follows the guidance of public health experts, they can continue to slow the spread of the virus, she said.
“It can sometimes be difficult to see how our actions make a difference, but they do,” Gov. Kelly said.
Widespread testing is the key to catching asymptomatic carriers and stopping the spread of COVID-19, she said.
Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health, said Kansas didn’t see the large surge in cases they worried about after Thanksgiving.
He commended everyone who took the health advice to heart.
The infectivity factor, also known as the reproduction number, has fallen in Kansas to under 1, Dr. Norman said.
Dr. Norman said it was due to personal responsibility people have taken, along with the measures the governor has implemented, and people should be credited for it.
Dr. Norman discussed the infectivity or reproductive factor, also referred to as “R naught.”
A factor of 1 or less indicates the virus could burn out and go away as a pandemic, he said. If it is greater than 1 it can continue to spread and gain in terms of total numbers, he said.
Kansas now has an R-naught number of 0.97, he said. More importantly, the trend line has gradually been going down, Dr. Norman said.
He added there could still be hotbeds within the state where the rate is 2 or 3.
“But the overall trend of the state is dropping down to just slightly below 1,” Dr. Norman said.
Gov. Kelly said as of Monday, there were a total of 132,000 COVID-19 tests given in Kansas that were directly related to the state’s unified testing strategy.
There were a total of 946,000 COVID-19 tests given in Kansas since the beginning of the pandemic.
She said the GoGetTested.com website is now up to 36 testing sites across the state and will continue to add more sites each week. She encouraged all Kansans to take advantage of the free testing at these sites. In Wyandotte County, the Pierson Community Center test site is on this website.
Although the infectivity factor has declined, it doesn’t mean the case numbers aren’t increasing. The case numbers have been increasing a little more than 2,000 a day in Kansas currently, according to the state health department’s statistics. However, there could be fluctuations in the numbers over the rest of the week, with the holidays, as there may not be as many tests, with some testing sites closed, and staff may not be there to record the numbers until after their days off. Also, one test site was showing a delay of about two-and-a-half days to get test results.
The state’s positivity rate was listed at 12.41 percent the week of Dec. 13, and so far this week, at around 8 percent, according to KDHE statistics. It is the number of positive tests per week divided by the number of all of the tests that week. That figure is often used for school reopening decisions.
Wyandotte County’s positivity rate was 10.9 percent for the week of Dec. 13, and so far this week, it was 6.9 percent, according to the KDHE statistics. This week’s numbers can be affected by holiday schedules. The goals are to keep the positivity rate under 5 percent.
Gov. Kelly also recognized the efforts of Dr. Allen Greiner, chief medical officer for Wyandotte County, saying he has remained flexible, implementing new health orders as needed, and working to provide accurate information.
Kansas reported 4,174 new cases from Friday to Monday, Dec. 21, Gov. Kelly said. There were 204,600 cumulative cases. There were 107 additional deaths reported, for a cumulative total of 2,448.
Dr. Norman said with the holidays approaching, the CDC has some guidelines for safely celebrating.
The CDC’s guidelines include having small dinners rather than large meals, just for people who live in the same household.
Also, it’s suggested to prepare traditional holiday meals for those at risk, and deliver them in a way that does not involve contact, he said.
Also, people might consider having a “virtual dinner” and sharing recipes with family and friends, he said.
Front-line physician says vaccine is safe
At the University of Kansas Health System news conference on Tuesday morning, Dr. Chris Brown, a physician who cares for COVID-19 patients every day at the hospital, said he believes the COVID-19 vaccine is safe.
Dr. Brown received the Pfizer vaccine on Friday and said he didn’t have any reaction to it. His colleagues who got the vaccine feel fine, as well, he said. Reactions to the vaccine are very uncommon, he added.
He said the process he went through to get this vaccine was no different than any other process patients would go through to take any vaccine.
Dr. Brown said when he hears remarks from his friends that they don’t want to be guinea pigs, they may be thinking about the past when experiments were carried out on minorities. However, that’s not where they are now, he said. A lot has been done to build bridges, he said.
“If there is ever a time to get the vaccine, this is the time to get the vaccine,” he said.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at KU Health System, said Kansas received around 23,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine last week and they have about 13,500 health care workers at KU Health System. There are not enough doses of vaccine here yet to vaccinate all health care workers that want to get the shots. That contributes to a little pressure now, and about three months from now, they’ll feel a lot different. The Moderna vaccine was scheduled to arrive, and after that, shipments of vaccine should continue on a weekly basis to Kansas.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System, said the number of infections is down around the city, which is a good thing. The number of hospitalizations also is down, he said.
“People are trying to do the right thing,” he said. He urged people to be smart over the holidays and be vigilant about wearing masks, social distancing and other health measures.
Doctors advised people not to let up on their masking and distancing, and avoid large groups so that the COVID-19 numbers don’t spike again.
COVID-19 case numbers
The University of Kansas Health System reported 76 active COVID-19 patients at the hospital on Tuesday morning, a decrease of three since Monday, according to Dr. Hawkinson. There were 28 patients in the intensive care unit, a decrease of two from Monday, with 20 of the ICU patients on ventilators, a decrease of two from Monday. There were 65 COVID-19 patients in the recovery phase who were still in the hospital, six more than Monday. There were a total of 141 COVID-19 patients, three more than Monday.
HaysMed in Hays, Kansas, reported 27 total COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, no change from Monday. Eighteen of them were active patients and nine were in the recovery phase.
Wyandotte County reported a cumulative 13,469COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, an increase of 82 cases since Monday, according to the Unified Government COVID-19 webpage. There were no additional deaths reported, for a cumulative 190.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s Kansas City Region COVID-19 Data Hub reported an increase of 1,374 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, for a cumulative 114,543 in the nine-county area. The average daily COVID-19 hospitalization rate was 165, up slightly from Monday. There were 1,362 cumulative deaths in the nine-county area.
Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday reported 18,218,466 cases in the United States, with 322,676 deaths.
Free COVID-19 testing available Wednesday
Free COVID-19 testing is scheduled to be available Wednesday at Pierson Community Center, 1800 S. 55th St., Kansas City, Kansas. The site is operated by WellHealth, and those interested in a test may visit www.GoGetTested.com/kansas to schedule a COVID-19 test.
The Unified Government Health Department has moved its COVID-19 testing from the 6th and Ann location to the former Kmart at 78th and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. The hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. There are holiday hours this week. They are open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The test site is open from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 24, and closed Dec. 25.
Tests are free for those who live or work in Wyandotte County. The tests are nasopharyngeal swab tests. The Health Department no longer uses saliva tests.
The tests now are open to asymptomatic people as well as those who have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19. Check with the UG Health Department’s Facebook page to see if there have been any changes in the schedule. Bring something that shows that you live or work in Wyandotte County, such as a utility bill.
Testing sites are at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.
For more test sites, also see https://www.gogettested.com/kansas.
For more information about the testing site at the former Kmart location, visit https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/10092020_newtestingsitewyco.pdf.
The KU doctors’ news conference is online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/408012137279625.
To see information about the UG giving vaccines to health care workers, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/ug-to-start-giving-covid-19-vaccines-to-health-department-and-ems-personnel-next-week/.
The KDHE vaccine report is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1677/Vaccine-Update-12-16-20.
Cards and letters of encouragement for caregivers at KU Health System may be sent to Share Joy, care of Patient Relations, 4000 Cambridge St., Mailstop 1021, Kansas City, Kansas, 66160. Emails can be sent to [email protected].
Wyandotte County is under a mandatory mask and social distancing order. Also, the Wyandotte County health order with a limit of 10 persons to a gathering, and a closing time of 10 p.m. for restaurants and bars, with other new restrictions, is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/11162020localhealthorderexecuted.pdf.
The UG COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
The KDHE’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/.
The KC Region COVID-19 Hub dashboard is at https://marc2.org/covidhub/.
The Wyandotte County page on the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 website is at https://bao.arcgis.com/covid-19/jhu/county/20209.html.
The CDC’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.