By Vivienne Uccello
(RILEY COUNTY, KS – February 16, 2022) A 59 year-old, unvaccinated female Riley County resident passed away January 11 after testing positive January 5. Her passing represents the 74th COVID-related death in the county.
Riley County has identified 230 new positive COVID-19 cases and 374 additional recoveries since the last report on February 9. There are currently 249 active cases, which represents a decrease of 145 active cases since last week. The two-week rolling percent positivity rate fell to 16.64% for the current period. The previous period had a positivity rate of 22.34%.
Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan is caring for eight positive patients at this time. None of the hospitalized patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
“We’re happy to see the drop in positive cases,” said Local Health Officer Julie Gibbs. “Demand for testing has also gone down.. The health department is receiving as few as 10 testing requests per day now, and we’re grateful that the shift is allowing us to dedicate more resources back to regular healthcare services such as maternal and early childhood health, family planning, and immunizations. We’re hopefully heading toward a better situation.”
Free COVID-19 testing will be available every weekday from 7am to 6pm through the end of March at the KDHE indoor facility located at 3019 Anderson Avenue. No appointment is necessary and the turnaround time for test results is currently 24 to 48 hours.
“We do not anticipate any case spikes in the coming weeks, but we can’t predict any further into the future than that,” said Gibbs. “We’re still encouraging people to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families against severe disease.”
The Riley County Health Department continues to recommend wearing masks in crowded areas, washing hands frequently, and following health guidelines.
Riley County COVID-19 Statistics for February 16, 2022
Total positive cases in Riley County residents: 13,212
Total active: 249
Total recovered: 12,889
Total deaths: 74