As the pace of COVID-19 infections slows to a crawl, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced an online tool that lets residents check the CDC’s official COVID-19 community level.
The COVID-19 County Check is updated every Thursday evening. It lets residents choose their state and county to see if COVID is at a low, medium or high level. Based off the current map, Lyon County and most surrounding counties are in a low COVID level, while Osage and Wabaunsee counties are in a medium level.
The web page also lists prevention steps based on the community for level:
*For low activity, residents are encouraged to keep their vaccines current or get vaccinated if they haven’t already done so. They are also encouraged to get tested if they have COVID symptoms.
*For medium activity, residents are also encouraged to talk with their doctors about wearing masks or taking other precautions if they are at high risk for severe illness.
*Whenever COVID goes to high risk, residents are encouraged to wear masks indoors while in public. The CDC also says additional steps may be needed for residents at high risk of severe illness.
The CDC’s announcement comes as Lyon County had no new COVID cases in Wednesday’s report and only two for the week. Lyon County has reported 10,129 cases since the pandemic started March 21, 2020. Areawide, Osage County is second at 3,892 cases. Coffey County is third at 2,410. Greenwood, Morris and Wabaunsee counties are under 2,000 cases and Chase County hasn’t reached 700 cases yet.
Click here for the link to the CDC’s COVID Community Level page.
