photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World Illustration
As cases of the coronavirus fall in Douglas County, the local health department has downgraded its guidance recommendation to schools.
Lawrence Douglas County Public Health announced Thursday that it had lowered its recommendation to the yellow tier, which calls for schools to use hybrid or fully in-person classes. The color-coded guidance is meant to help county school districts navigate reopening schools and conducting activities as the pandemic continues during the school year.
Sonia Jordan, the health department’s director of informatics, said in the announcement that the 14-day average number of new cases and 14-day average positivity rate for the virus have both dropped in the last week, leading to the downgrade.
Staff Report
Jan. 20 COVID-19 update from the health department
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According to a new vaccine dashboard, 111,905 Kansans had been vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Wednesday.
Gov. Laura Kelly announced the dashboard, which can be accessed online at kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data, on Wednesday. It will be updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday by 12:30 p.m.
On Wednesday, Kansas had distributed 202,225 doses, and of those doses, 129,349 had been administered. Of those 129,349 administered doses, 111,632 were first doses and 17,712 were second doses, according to the dashboard. The dashboard notes that the number of people vaccinated may differ from total number of first doses administered “if records are complete for second doses but not first.” According to the dashboard, 3.8% of Kansans have been vaccinated thus far.
A sign points to LMH Health s drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination center on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020.
Lawrence resident Deb Umberger received a text alert Wednesday night at 6:23 p.m. informing her that residents over the age of 65 could register for a drive-thru vaccination clinic.
It was the first opportunity for Douglas County residents who qualified for Phase 2 of the state’s vaccination plan to sign up to receive a COVID-19 dose. Just over an hour earlier, Gov. Laura Kelly had announced that the state would move to Phase 2 on Thursday.
Umberger had been eager to get the shot for weeks. She hasn’t seen her 91-year-old mother in over a year. When she heard the clinic would be on Jan. 29, she was already thinking about how it would be a gift to receive her first vaccine dose that day her birthday.
Staff Report
photo by: Associated Press
A bottle of Moderna s COVID-19 vaccine is seen on a table before Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly received an injection Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Douglas County now has a date for Phase II COVID vaccinations to begin, but it also has far more people eager to get the vaccine than it has doses currently.
That became evident early Wednesday evening. Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health announced a little after 6 p.m. Wednesday that it would hold its first mass vaccination event for people 65 and older on Jan. 29 at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. But health leaders said they expected to only have 500 doses of the vaccine available for the appointment-only vaccination clinic.
Staff Report
Jan. 19 COVID-19 update from the health department
Douglas County reported 7,617 cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday, an increase of 147 cases since Friday.
In Douglas County, 6,407 out of the 7,617 cases are inactive or beyond the infectious period, according to Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, meaning 1,210 cases are active.
The county has averaged about 59 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 58.5 new cases per day is down from a high of 78 cases per day in mid-November and up from a recent low of 43 cases per day in mid-December.