TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment released a retooled list Wednesday of site-specific COVID-19 clusters that identified outbreaks of five cases or more occurring within the previous 14 days.
The original format for the KDHE report launched Sept. 9 defined clusters as businesses with at least 20 cases or as events and groups linked to five cases or more. It also included outbreaks that added as few as one new case within the prior 28 days. Those thresholds were questioned by journalists as insufficient and denounced by businesses as excessive.
In response, KDHE eliminated the distinction for purposes of this report — setting the benchmark in the new version at five regardless of locale.
“Somebody, let’s say, has eight cases today and then a week from now to have it down to four or less and then to no longer be on the list,” said Lee Norman, secretary of KDHE said in an interview with the Kansas Reflector. “I think that’s a more realistic way to inform people so they can make choices.”
In addition, KDHE decided to focus more attention on real-time situations by narrowing the report to COVID-19 outbreaks with symptom-onset dates in the previous 14 days. The agency came under criticism for listing clusters that began months ago and resulted in significant exposures to the virus but had been reduced to a trickle. As a consequence, the report’s list of businesses with clusters will shrink.
“What we feel like we’ve done is modified it to really meet the needs of people looking at the list,” Norman said. “We’re doing it and customizing essentially for the purposes that we think the public will benefit from the most.”
Alan Cobb, president of the Kansas Chamber, said the business lobbying organization appreciated the administration of Gov. Laura Kelly revising its approach to reporting COVID-19 outbreaks.
“KDHE’s updated approach to keeping Kansans informed about the potential risks of COVID-19 better reflects current data,” he said.
Cobb said KDHE should provide businesses advance notice of being added to the public cluster list and be given an opportunity to “meaningfully respond.” Relying on outdated information during the pandemic induces fear and anxiety, he said.
On Wednesday, KDHE reported an additional 21 fatalities linked to coronavirus since Monday. Nine of the 21 resulted from the agency’s ongoing effort to reconcile death notifications disclosed by health providers with official causes of death in documents filed with KDHE. Since the virus began spreading in March, Kansas has recorded 621 deaths tied to COVID-19.
The agency said 1,267 new cases of coronavirus in Kansas had been identified through testing since Monday to put the statewide total at 55,226.
Norman said a central purpose of KDHE was public safety and the agency’s goal during the pandemic was to be transparent with information useful to people.
The new cluster list issued by KDHE identified the No. 1 outbreak to be at Kenwoodview Health and Rehabilitation Center in Salina at 35 cases. The rest of the top five with case numbers from the past 14 days: Rolling Hills Health and Rehabilitation, Topeka, 29; National Beef, Dodge City, 20; Azria Health Woodhaven, Ellinwood, 16; SunPorch of Dodge City, 16; and Dodge City Community College, 14.
In all, the revised KDHE report included 26 locations with more than half at long-term care facilities. Four public school sites on the list were Baxter Springs High School, Nettels Elementary School in Pittsburg, Meade Elementary School and the Dodge City school district. There were three religious sites, including a revival event hosted by Abundant Life Family Church in Dodge City. In addition to National Beef, the large meatpacker in southwest Kansas, the other business on the list was Acme Foundry in Coffeyville.
