WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — In the past two days, another 105 Kansans have been hospitalized with COVID-19. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said that of the 109 Kansas hospitals that reported yesterday, there are 1,167 current COVID-19 patients admitted, with 230 of the patients in intensive care.
The number of deaths linked to COVID-19 in Kansas increased by 134 in the past two days. The KDHE said the death toll is now 7,522. The 134 deaths did not all happen this week. The KDHE said previous deaths are often reviewed and then added or subtracted from the total, depending on what the review shows.
Some of the newly added deaths are in younger age groups. Two are in the 18-24-year-old age group, and two are in the 25-34 age group.
| Age Group | Deaths | Change since Wednesday | Percent of deaths |
| 0-9 years | 4 | 0 | .1% |
| 10-17 years | 4 | 0 | .1% |
| 18-24 years | 27 | +2 | .4% |
| 25-34 years | 61 | +2 | .8% |
| 35-44 years | 184 | +3 | 2.4% |
| 45-54 years | 435 | +9 | 5.8% |
| 55-64 years | 975 | +11 | 13% |
| 65-74 years | 1,571 | +37 | 20.9% |
| 75-84 years | 1,980 | +32 | 26.3% |
| 85+ years | 2,281 | +38 | 30.3% |
| Total | 7,522 | +134 | 100% |
The state said 12,986 more Kansans tested positive for the coronavirus since Wednesday. The KDHE tests about two percent of the positive cases for COVID-19 variants. It found 253 of the recent positive cases are the highly contagious omicron variant, while only six were the delta variant.
The KDHE does not have a way to know how many Kansans have tested positive with at-home test kits, so those numbers are not included in the KDHE data. However, a spokesperson said that the state encourages people who test positive with an at-home kit to get another test administered by or observed by a health care professional.
“If people choose not to get a confirmation test, they should still isolate at home while they are infectious and let their close contacts know about their potential exposure,” Matt Lara, KDHE communications director, said.
On Wednesday, the KDHE reported two new cases of MIS-C (Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children), a condition that doctors say stems from COVID-19. The last time Kansas saw a new case of MIS-C was late October.
Each week, more Kansans get vaccinated against COVID-19. For example, in the past two days, almost 12,000 Kansans got vaccinated:
- 3,180 got their first dose of a vaccine
- 3,584 got their second dose
- 5,091 got a third dose
Of Kansans eligible to get vaccinated, the KDHE reporter 65.24% have received at least one dose of vaccine, while 56.12% have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series.
