Sedgwick County commissioners were told Tuesday that the current numbers on COVID-19 are trending “in the right direction.”   County manager Tom Stolz provided an update for commissioners during their weekly staff meeting.

Stolz said numbers over the past 14 days have been going down, and a discussion was held Monday with local hospitals, and they have also reported fewer patients hospitalized and more intensive care beds available.   He said hospitals still have a concern about staffing issues with coronavirus cases and quarantines.   He said they are concerned about the opening of schools this month and they’re hoping the numbers will remain stable or trend lower.

The county was reporting a total of 6,925 cases as of Tuesday, remaining at 50 deaths.   The county is now showing a percentage rate of 8 percent on positive cases, which is down from a high of 14.1 percent around a month ago.   The county has conducted more than 80,000 tests.

Stolz said staff members have had discussions about the data presented on the COVID-19 dashboard on the county’s web site, and more information will be presented to commissioners next week.   The county is offering a community only percentage that does not include clusters such as nursing homes and the county jail.  That’s intended to present information on the true community spread of the virus, to provide information for school districts as they decide where they should be as they resume classes.

Commissioners will decide in a couple of weeks if the current mask order will be extended, and there was a discussion Tuesday about face shields as an option for teachers in the classroom.   Commissioner David Dennis said the county’s mask order does make an allowance for other face coverings, including face shields, and he said that should continue. Dennis said he talked with state education commissioner Randy Watson, who endorsed the idea of using face shields.