Following is the Saline County COVID-19 update for Wednesday.
●2 deaths due to COVID-19 since Monday.
●17 people are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19.
●73 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday.
●172 variants were identified in the 296 samples sent from Saline County to KDHE for sequencing.
COVID-19 has taken the lives of two additional members of our community since our last update on Monday. That's five people in five days, which brings the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths to 133.
Salina Regional Health Center reports they currently have 17 patients who require hospitalization for COVID-19.
There have been 73 new COVID-19 cases identified and reported to the health department since our last update on Monday, which makes 108 new cases in the last five days. The Saline County Health Department staff is actively monitoring 575 cases of COVID-19. There has been a total of 7199 confirmed cases, and at least 6494 people have recovered from COVID-19.
KDHE has identified variants in 172 of the 296 specimens sent from Saline County for sequencing.
Vaccination/ re-infection rates are not available at this time. The Saline County Health Department and Salina Regional Health Center thank you for your patience and understanding.
More data and additional information can be found on the Saline County Coronavirus webpage, KDHE COVID-19 Information Site, and CDC COVID-19 Tracker.
The best way to stop the spread of COVID-19 and thus prevent mutation of the virus is:
●Stay home if you are sick.•Get tested if you feel unwell, even if you don’t believe it is COVID. You can find testing centers at gogettested.com or contact your local medical provider.
●Get vaccinated. You can find a vaccine at vaccines.gov or contact your local medical provider.
●Wear a mask, especially if you are not fully vaccinated. If you are fully vaccinated, wear a mask when in-doors in crowded spaces.
●Maintain at least6 feet of distancebetween yourself and those with whom you do not live.
●Do not travel to “hot spots."
●If you test positive, isolate immediately and be open and honest with COVID caseworkers about your contacts.