As the nation’s top infectious disease specialist expressed optimism amid the omicron surge, Kansas doctors continue to warn of challenges hospitals face amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 14,270 new COVID-19 cases, 71 new hospitalizations and 17 new deaths over the weekend.
An eighth child death was reported Monday. The youth was in the 10-17 age group.
Federal data released Monday show Kansas has the eighth-highest rate of new cases of any state in the country. Just over 2% of the entire state population was diagnosed with COVID-19 in the most recent week of reporting.
The statewide positive test rate is about 33%, with the 12-17 population experiencing the highest rate of any age group, at 42%.
“What we are seeing nationally, overall, is we think maybe the peak or the decrease in case rates or case numbers,” said Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease specialist at The University of Kansas Health System. “However, we know that there are communities, and in certain geographic regions, that are still having high amounts of cases.
(Note: Jason Tidd is a reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal)
