Another death due to COVID-19 has been confirmed in Cowley County, according to a news release from the City-Cowley County Health Department Friday.

“Today, we learned that one person who had been struggling with the virus for several weeks and was hospitalized passed away,” the health department stated in the release. “Infection with SARS-CoV-2 was the major factor for the death.”

No further information about the deceased has been released. It’s the third death in the county associated with coronavirus since the pandemic began. 

The first, 68-year-old Sam Crain , a long-time Ark City educator according to his obituary, died April 8. The second, a 34-year-old Hispanic-Latino male whose name has not been publicized, died July 17.

Friday, the health department reported 209 positive cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the county since a national emergency proclamation was issued by the White House on March 13.

Later Friday afternoon, however, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 222 total cases so far for Cowley County.

Of the county health department’s reported 209 cases — excluding the three deaths — 39 remain active and 167 have recovered.

As of Friday, 3,522 people in Cowley County have been tested for the virus. Cowley County has a population of 34,908 people as of July 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

On average, the health department said it has been testing 250 people per week in the county for those showing symptoms. 

Statewide, KDHE reported Friday 36.856 total confirmed cases since March, including 2,159 hospitalizations, 419 deaths and 329.459 negative tests.

That’s a total of 366,315 tests for the state, which amounts to roughly 13 percent of the state’s population. Kansas has a population of 2.9 million people. 

Kay County, Oklahoma, has risen to 281 total cases and remains at 11 deaths. Overall, the state of Oklahoma has reported 51,746 total positive cases and 715 deaths.

Official testing numbers for Oklahoma are not widely available, however, an independent tracking website operated by The Atlantic Monthly, dubbed the “The COVID Tracking Project,” reports 800,902 tests have been performed so far, which amounts to 20 percent of the state’s residents. Oklahoma’s population numbers 3.9 million. 

The City-Cowley County Health Department said Friday that contact tracing and disease investigation indicates that the spread of the virus continues to be communal in nature and is being passed through person to person close contact throughout the county.

The data continues to indicate that there is a significantly higher incidence of illness in the Arkansas City vicinity when compared to other communities in the county.

(Table courtesy the City-Cowley County Health Department)

Many ongoing cases in Cowley County continue to trace back to the late May 2020 outbreak attributed to social activity and the rapid spread to the local employee workforce, according to the health department.

That outbreak has spread systemically to numerous people in the county and into neighboring counties to the west of Cowley County specific to employment, Friday’s news release stated.

The health department also said Friday that there is an ongoing outbreak at the Winfield Correctional Facility that is being managed by the State Department of Corrections and KDHE.

KDOCC reported Aug. 11 that an inmate at the Winfield Correctional Facility tested positive. 

The City-Cowley County Health Department said it continues to record isolated cases where social activity has been the exposure pathway.

“These activities have all been outside of Cowley County where residents have participated and then returned home and became ill,” the department said. “Over the past few weeks more than five pre-op tests on patients needing surgery but who were otherwise asymptomatic have been found.

“Most people who become ill recover within a 14-day period and can return quickly to normal activity. Nevertheless, it is imperative that people still follow the isolation and quarantine orders they receive when tested, which sadly are often overlooked or ignored.”

The health department also addressed the impending start of public school in the county. Both Winfield and Ark City are slated to begin classes on Sept. 9.

Ark City will begin school with a hybrid model, while the Winfield school board will decide its approach during its meeting Monday. 

“All Cowley County schools are set to re-open soon and it is extremely important for everyone to follow the public health safety guidelines in order to ensure that students and teachers can remain healthy and safe this year,” the health department stated.

“Please do not take health risks that are unnecessary. If you feel ill, stay home do not continue to go to work or interact in the community, (i.e. shopping, meetings, social interactions) and spread the virus to others. In order to avoid contracting this virus consider every person you come in contact with as potentially being ill.

“Observe appropriate social distance, wear a mask when in areas where people are gathered and you cannot socially distance, wash and sanitize your hands often. If you develop symptoms of illness contact the health department and get tested.”