Coffey County now has the largest number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases within the KVOE listening area as of Monday afternoon.
A total of six new cases have been identified within the county, with three announced Monday morning and an additional three announced later Monday afternoon. This now brings the total number of confirmed positive cases to 14 in the county.
The new cases include an 84-year-old male, a 39-year-old female, an 82-year-old female, an 86-year-old female, a 90-year-old female and a 77-year-old female.
All 14 of the positive cases have been connected to an outbreak at Life Care Center in Burlington. The link was announced this weekend, with the identity of the facility being confirmed Monday by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Additionally, three cases of COVID-19 in Lyon County have also been connected to Life Care Center. Life Care is a part of a chain of facilities that includes centers in Kirkland, WA, Springfield, MO, and Wyandotte County where the first Kansas COVID-19 related death occurred earlier this month.
So far, 8 cases have been confirmed at the Springfield facility with three deaths while the Kirkland facility has been linked to 34 COVID-19 deaths.
3 pm Monday: Coffey County facility linked to positive COVID-19 cases identified; Coffey County case number now at 11
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has identified the Coffey County skilled nursing facility linked to a number of positive COVID-19 cases recently.
KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman confirmed Monday the facility in question has been identified as Life Care Center in Burlington. The center is one of the multiple centers in the United States which also includes facilities in Kirkland, WA, Springfield, MO and Wyandotte County where the first Kansas COVID-19 related death was reported according to the Kansas City Star.
Norman says Life Care is a “very big operator” with numerous locations, which would make them more likely to experience a large spread.
Eight positive cases were linked to the care facility in Springfield where three have died and four have been hospitalized. The Kirkland facility has been linked to 34 deaths so far.
For more information visit the Coffey County Health Department’s website or KDHEks.gov.
Noon Monday: CORONAVIRUS: COFFEY COUNTY POSITIVE TEST NUMBER INCREASES TO 11; OFFICIALS CONTINUING EFFORTS TO LIMIT FUTURE SPREAD
Coffey County’s list of positive coronavirus cases continues to increase with now close to a dozen infected patients having been identified.
Coffey County Health Officer Dr. John Shell announced that 11 cases have been identified as of Monday during a video update late Monday morning. Of those cases, a number have been linked to a Coffey County skilled nursing facility in Burlington.
The link has not been limited to just spread in Coffey County as Lyon County Public Health Officer Renee Hively told KVOE News Monday morning. According to Hively at least three of the cases in Lyon County have been linked to the skilled nursing facility, however, further information is not available at this time.
Shell says while this is a concerning trend, Shell says the facility has enacted an “appropriate plan” to quell the spread to outside the facility. They have stopped all visitation and have begun quarantining any residents who are showing symptoms of COVID-19.
Shell says while the recent trends are alarming, the fact that the most common link has been narrowed down to one facility provides an advantage for helping prevent future spread.
During his video update, Dr. Shell encouraged local residents to continue practicing proper preventive measures such as social distancing, self-isolation, good hand washing practices and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze. He concluded his remarks by stating “We are going to beat this pandemic, I’m very sure of that.”
For more information visit the Coffey County Health Department’s website or to listen to Dr. Shell’s earlier remarks in their entirety visit the health department’s Facebook page.
