Riley County has 13 new positive cases since yesterday’s report. The totals are now 116 active, 336 recovered, and 5 deaths. Yesterday, the Riley County Health Department incorrectly reported 351 recoveries to date. Staff are working diligently to maintain accuracy and will continue to share data. Written updates will now be released on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in an effort to incorporate the latest information from KDHE.
Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan is caring for one positive patient and zero PUI* patients. The patient has symptoms severe enough to require hospital care, but is not on a ventilator at this time.
RCHD will begin tracking probable cases of COVID-19 starting today. A probable case includes those who received a positive serology test (antibody positive), and those who developed symptoms as a close contact but were never tested. Riley County currently has eight people who qualify to be listed as probable positive patients.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) includes both probable and laboratory-confirmed cases in statewide totals.
Guidelines have also changed regarding antigen or antibody testing; those test results will now be counted in Riley County and in Kansas. These tests are considered valid and highly specific; a positive antigen test is a true positive, and a negative antigen test is a true negative, unless clinically indicated otherwise.
The traditional Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests measure the presence of the virus. PCR testing remains the gold standard for diagnostic testing for COVID, but data supports antigen testing and the validity of antigen test results.
“We’re making this change locally after speaking with the providers in town who are using the antigen tests,” said RCHD Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Andrew Adams. “We’re all confident in the validity of those results.”
There are a few offices in Riley County that offer antigen testing. Anyone interested in being tested should contact their health care provider or call the Riley County Screening Line at 785-323-6400.
Riley County Statistics for Tuesday, August 5, 2020:
- Total positive cases in Riley County Residents: 465**
- Total Active: 116
- Total Recovered: 336
- Total deaths: 5
- Pending test results: 154
- Negative test results: 4,661
- Average age: 31.5 years old
- Gender: Female: 48.8% (227), Male 51.2% (238)