Patrons enjoy the Paris Park Pool in Ark City in an undated photo from a previous summer. (File photo courtesy Ark City Recreation Commission)
Updated, Friday, 5:44 p.m.: The health department sent a corrected media release Friday afternoon that said its original information from Sedgwick County was incorrect regarding the date of positive test result. The initial press release said the girl tested positive Thursday, but it was actually Wednesday.
A 14- year-old girl who tested positive for COVID-19 in Sedgwick County may have spread the illness in Ark City, according to the City-Cowley County Health Department Friday.
The health department said the girl, who splits residence with custodial parents in both Sedgwick and Cowley counties, was experiencing symptoms of illness on June 5 while in Sedgwick County.
Her mother took her to a local private care clinic and during the visit had a test sample taken for COVID-19 which was processed by the clinic’s contracted private laboratory.
Wednesday evening, the clinic informed the family in Sedgwick County that the test results were positive for COVID-19.
The Sedgwick County Health Department has confirmed that they now have results for the patient and are sharing those with the City-Cowley County Health Department.
During the week of June 7, the child came to Ark City to visit her other parent.
While in Ark City — and before the results of the testing were known — the child interacted socially with friends and the community at large, including a visit to the public pool on Thursday.
It is also reported that the mother of the girl has contacted a parent(s) of the girl’s friends where she participated in a sleepover during the week, possibly exposing friends there.
“This social activity has likely exposed several people to COVID-19 in the Arkansas City community,” the City-Cowley County Health Department said in its news release. “The failure to heed the instructions and warnings of public health guidance and medical instructions is evidenced here.
“A person who is tested MUST remain quarantined with family members until such time as the results are known. This did not happen. The Arkansas City community is upset as evidenced by the comments and calls made over social media and to the health department.”
Families that believe they may have been exposed are required to isolate themselves at home for the next 48 hours.
Friday morning, the City-Cowley County Health Departmental reported it has tested 1,057 people in the county since a national emergency proclamation was issued by the White House on March 13 and has confirmed 39 total cases so far— an increase of seven since Thursday— with 35 of those active cases in the county.
Cowley County has a population of 34,908 people as of July 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
According to the latest Kansas Department of Health and Environment report on the virus posted Friday afternoon, there are now 11,047 positive cases of COVID-19 across the state, 973 hospitalizations, 243 deaths and 118,105 negative tests.
Statewide, positive cases have increased by just over 1,000 since June 1. The state has recorded 26 more deaths in that same span of 12 days.
An Ark City man who tested positive April 1 died a week later and remains the only death in the county connected to the virus.
