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Sedgwick County commissioners hear report on COVID-19 testing

Sedgwick County commissioners hear report on COVID-19 testing

Sedgwick County commissioners hear report on COVID-19 testing

Sedgwick County commissioners covered a variety of issues related to the coronavirus during a lengthy discussion at their regular meeting Wednesday.

County health director Adrienne Byrne said the county has received supplies for more testing, and she said the health department has been able to test up to 120 in one day.  She says people who have one of 12 known symptoms should call 211 for an initial screening.    She says first responders, health care workers, and people who work in long-term care facilities can be tested weekly, whether they have symptoms or not.  Employees of area meat-packing companies can also be tested.   There have been outbreaks at meat processing plants in other Kansas counties and in other states.

Assistant county manager Tim Kaufman told commissioners that there are over 4,100 testing kits on hand at the health department, and the drive-through testing site on West Central served 538 people last week.

Sedgwick County reported 441 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, with 17 deaths.  259 people have recovered, and over 5,100 county residents have been tested so far.

Commissioner David Dennis expressed frustration that there is no information on the number of people hospitalized and the number of people on ventilators.   Byrne said hospitals have not been reporting those numbers but they say they have capacity to handle patients with COVID-19 and other health issues.   She said if they were running low on capacity they would contact the county about finding locations for patient care.     County manager Tom Stolz said he has talked with local hospitals and he believes they are hesitant to put out numbers because those numbers can change hourly.

 

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