By the Associated Press and KFDI News:
Kansas’ top public health official has warned the state is “losing the battle” against the coronavirus as it reports another record increase in new cases.
The state health department on Friday reported 1,855 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases since Wednesday to bring the total for the pandemic to 65,807. The state also reported another 40 COVID-19-related deaths, increasing the total to 763.
Kansas saw an average of 671 new cases a day for the seven days ending Friday, breaking the state’s previous record of 667 for the seven days ending Sept. 28.
Health department head Dr. Lee Norman said Kansas is doing worse than other states.
Sedgwick County is reporting a total of 9,196 cases, an increase of 103 cases since Thursday. Ten new deaths have brought the county’s death total to 104, but health officials said the deaths occurred in late August and early September. They were added to the total as part of a routine data update. The county has tested 117,910 people for COVID-19, and the percentage of positive tests was 5.9 percent as of Friday.
