The City-Cowley County Health Department announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 Wednesday around the noon hour, according to a news release.
The case involves a male, over age 60, with no known travel history.
City-Cowley County Health Department officials are working to identify any close contacts of the individual and those who were exposed will be contacted as soon as possible. The department will be monitoring these contacts for fever and respiratory symptoms.
“Please understand that in no way will any identifying information be released from our office regarding any individual(s) that currently are or may become ill with COVID-19 in Cowley County,” the department said on its Facebook page Wednesday. “The entire county is now recognized as having a confirmed case within its population. Please work with us to insure you take all the precautions outlined so you do not contract this illness.”
The health department said to be vigilant.
“Please treat all interactions with anyone as a possible exposure source and practice social distancing and personal hygiene habits that have been documented. Maintain your composure and be calm because this is the expected progression of the disease. How we behave now will determine if we are a person to person spread community or if we can contain this and keep it from spreading widely.”
Cowley County Public Health Officer Thomas Langer said citizens should continue to stay at home.
“Sadly, we have identified through testing the first positive case of COVID-19 in Cowley County,” Langer said. “The individual that is ill is receiving the best care possible and we are hopeful he will recover completely. Now that we know this disease is in our community, we are asking that all residents continue to comply with the governor’s current stay-at-home order and take all the steps we have been outlining to help avoid and stop the spread of this illness.”
As of Thursday, there were 552 cases of COVID-19 in the state of Kansas, including the latest case in Cowley County. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, 6,059 tested negative, 138 have been hospitalized and 13 deaths have been recorded. The median age of patients is 55.
Of the state’s total cases as of Thursday, 160 cases are ages 20-44 — which, at 29 percent, is the largest group of cases.
A Kay County, Oklahoma, resident has died due to the virus, where there have been 24 cases so far, according to Kay NewsCow.
Oklahoma has recorded 879 cases with 34 deaths, according to the latest data.
Cowley County, Kay County Grade Poorly In Social Distancing, Travel Reduction
Grades are poor in the region in regards to social distancing and travel reduction, according to data site Unacast, which tracks such statistics via mobile phone and GPS data.
As of Thursday morning, Cowley County’s grade is a D. The state of Kansas overall is graded C-.
Kay County is receiving a D- grade, as well as the entire state of Oklahoma.
Health experts say limiting movement, staying at home and staying away from others is key in limiting coronvirus cases and deaths across the country.
