Following is the Saline County COVID-19 update for Friday.
As the holiday weekend begins, we need our entire community to continue to follow public health messages and make a conscious effort to protect all citizens. Wear masks, limit gatherings, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and stay home when you don’t feel well. The choices and behaviors that each member of our community makes determine the ability to keep schools and businesses open.
There are 19 new positive COVID-19 cases in Saline County that have been identified since the Wednesday, September 2nd report. The total for the county is now 522, with 124 cases that are actively being monitored by the Health Department, 389 that have recovered, and a total of 9 deaths. Salina Regional Health Center reports that they have 5 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
According to the Kansas Department of Health & Environment, there are now 45,220 cases and 481 deaths statewide. This information can be found at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/.
Announcements:
●Saline County is pleased to announce that we received word today from the Governor’s Office of Recovery that our reimbursement and direct aid plans for the Round 1 Coronavirus Relief Funding are approved. This will allow us to disburse $11,026,434 to public, private and non-profit organizations in Saline County. While the state did not request any modifications to the County’s plan, the County’s Coronavirus Funding Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, September 8 at 2:30 pm, to review the feedback from the Office of Recovery. That meeting can be viewed on the County’s YouTube channel.
●The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will begin releasing active locations of outbreaks published weekly beginning on September 9th. Active locations will be released when there are five or more confirmed cases associated the location. For private businesses, the name of the business will only be released if there are 20 or more cases associated with the location. In Kansas, an outbreak is defined as two or more cases associated with one known exposure. No patient names will be released.
Here is what you can do to help us to stop the spread:
●Stay home if you’re sick
●Wear masks in public spaces as required by City Ordinance and County Resolution
●Maximize physical distance (6 feet or more) in public settings
●Avoid socializing with large groups
●High-risk individuals should only leave the house for essential needs
●Wash your hands frequently
Only follow official sources to obtain information: www.saline.org/coronavirus or www.kdheks.gov.