Kansas is on track to pay out an extra $300-a-week federal unemployment benefit as part of a coronavirus rescue aid package enacted late last month, a top Department of Labor official said.
Shawnee County s COVID-19 scorecard has again maxed out as the county reported 233 cases on Wednesday, the highest single-day case total since the pandemic began.
The county reported 828 cases between Dec. 27-Jan. 2, according to the scorecard. Craig Barnes, division manager of the Community Health Outreach and Planning department, said 155 cases were reported Thursday morning. The number of cases does remain still very high, at an uncontrolled level, Barnes said at the health department’s Thursday news conference. What we are seeing here really is the beginnings of what we anticipate to be the post holiday surge.
Last week, Barnes applauded Shawnee County citizens for adhering to virus guidelines, but this week he urged people to follow the guidelines. Barnes said gatherings pose the highest risk in the community.
Shawnee County saw another drop in COVID-19 cases as it sits in the first phase of the vaccination plan.
COVID-19 cases have continued to drop since cases reached near-record highs the week after Thanksgiving. The county had 1,053 cases between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5, but has only 579 cases between Dec. 20-26.
Positivity rates also dropped down to 9.9%, which is the first time in weeks positivity rates dropped below the “uncontrolled” metric on the scorecard.
Craig Barnes, division manager of the Community Health Outreach and Planning department, said the case totals are still in the “uncontrolled” range, but he said Shawnee County citizens have done a much better job of following restrictions.
Meet the group helping with COVID-19 decisions in Shawnee County
In recent weeks, the Shawnee County Health Department was combating record-high COVID-19 numbers, all while losing key members of its staff.
Departures from department director Linda Ochs and health officer Gianfranco Pezzino came during important months of the pandemic, but the health department has continued reviewing COVID-19 data as it prepares for vaccine distribution in the coming months.
Even though these important positions are changing hands, the Shawnee County COVID-19 Incident Response Team has continued its work.
“The Incident Command System is a standardized hierarchical structure that allows for a cooperative response by multiple agencies, both within and outside of government, to organize and coordinate response activities without compromising the decision-making authority of local command,” said a document outlining the groups responsibilities.