Sedgwick County hospitals now report they are in a “critical” status with new cases of COVID-19. According to data from the county’s COVID-19 web page, there are 147 people hospitalized with the virus, and 56 of them are in the intensive care unit.
Sedgwick County reported 142 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, with two new deaths. The county has had a total of 53,212 cases for the pandemic, with 669 deaths. The state of Kansas reported 3,006 new cases on Wednesday, compared to Monday’s numbers. There are 62 new deaths, to bring the state’s total to 5,456. The state also reported 98 new hospitalizations.
Sedgwick County’s positive testing rate has dropped from 9 percent to 8 percent as of Wednesday. Deputy county manager Tim Kaufman said there has been a huge increase in demand for testing, and there have been some problems with space and distancing at the county’s testing location. Changes have been made at the Sunflower Shelter at Sedgwick County Park to provide better distancing, and Kaufman said people can have the option of waiting in their cars if they need to. Kaufman said the county has been looking at other locations for testing, but that will take time to figure out. The Sunflower Shelter is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Wednesdays it is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free walk-in testing is provided to county residents, regardless of symptoms. Results are generally available in about one day.
