COVID-19 trends are not where local health officials want them, and that’s not just with the base data released on a regular basis by Lyon County Public Health.
Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern says it has been tough to get a true sense of COVID traffic because of the holidays, but the 104 new cases announced Wednesday is the latest evidence of an ongoing COVID spike.
Test positivity rates have been holding steady at or above 20 percent for several weeks, well above Public Health’s goal of five percent or less.
Millbern also noted an increase in cases among children, especially when compared to previous waves of activity.
Of the 6,700 total cases reported since March 2020, over 2,000 cases have been in people under age 23 — and better than half of those cases have been among traditional college-age students between ages 18 and 23.
So far this academic year, USD 253 Emporia has had 81 staff and almost 300 student positives. The district had seven new staff positives and three student positives in the week right before winter break.
USD 251 North Lyon County had one COVID-positive student and no new staff positives in its latest report. USD 252 Southern Lyon County has not posted an update.
Emporia State University had four positives between Dec. 12-17 and 52 overall. Flint Hills Technical College has 12 active cases and 42 for the semester.
People as young as age five are eligible for vaccinations.
