Finney County reported its 11th confirmed COVID-19 case Monday, as 845 confirmed cases were reported statewide, an increase of 98 cases since Sunday.
According to the Finney County Department of Health, the increase in the number of positive cases in Finney County does not indicate community spread, but is due to out-of state travel; the increase is also a factor of the varying processing times for test results from the Kansas Department of Health (KDHE) and private labs.
Other western Kansas counties reporting positive COVID-19 cases are as follows: Morton (1), Stevens (1), Finney (11), Ford (1), Gove (1), Osborne (2), Barton (3), Stafford (1), and Pratt (1).
The 845 confirmed cases being reported statewide as of Monday, include 198 hospitalizations and 25 deaths.
According to the Kansas News Service, Kansas is struggling to get its hands on millions of face masks and other gear to protect health care workers against the novel coronavirus.
Kansas got 90 percent of its share of the national stockpile of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supplies controlled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The state doesn’t expect to receive the rest.
State officials have also turned to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), asking for gloves, masks and more. And the state has placed big orders with private vendors, hoping supplies will come through that way if FEMA doesn’t deliver.
The Kansas News Service also reports that wastewater managers cross Kansas say they are seeing an increase in the number of clogged sewer lines because people are flushing things down the toilet they shouldn’t
Johnson County Wastewater General Manager Susan Pekarek said people should only flush poo, pee and toilet paper. That means no wipes, even those that say they’re flushable.
“You know it might work one or two times, but when you’ve got everyone home now and everyone is using the facilities more than they’re normally getting used, you’re going to impact your own system,” she said.
A clogged service line could cause all that waste to backup into a basement or other part of a home, creating a health hazard. Fixing a service line can also cost as much as $1,000 dollars.
