By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Ellis County Health Department reported on Wednesday no new cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in the county since Monday.
There are now seven active cases of coronavirus, including two active hospitalizations, and 138 recovered cases.
Since the pandemic began, there have been 145 cases of COVID-19 in Ellis County, including one death.
"Things are improving in Ellis County, they continue to improve in Ellis County," Jason Kennedy, Ellis County Health Officer told the county commission Monday. "We really have seen a precipitous decline in our seven-day average case growth and our seven-day average percent of positives."
The seven-day average percent of positive tests was 4.2 percent as of Wednesday.
Ellis County hit its peak in cases about July 19, within the two week infection window of the Fourth of July holiday.
The decline began before the City of Hays instituted its mask mandate on July 27, Kennedy said.
"As we are looking at moving back into school, we need people to still make good decisions, " he said. "Not gathering in groups is really the biggest thing. If you avoid contact with other people, you likely reduce your chance of getting COVID."
The CDC and Kansas Department of Health and Environment is recommending only testing people who symptoms, Kennedy said.
Exceptions include first responders who have been exposed, staff and residents of long-term care facilities, people at high risk and people who have had prolonged exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Kennedy said Ellis County's number of cases is lower than those of its peer counties. Ellis County ranks about 25th in the state in terms of number of cases, but 15th in population.
"We will continue to see waves of the virus. It is still in our county. It is not gone from our county. As people go and travel and gather in groups, you are going to see it," Kennedy said. "We will continue to see those waves for the foreseeable future. COVID will not go away. We will not see a time that COVID is no more, at least not in my lifetime. A vaccine is not an on-off switch.
"How we deal and react to COVID is what will determine what our future looks like."
Commissioner Dustin Roths was concerned the City of Hays mask mandate is set to end Aug. 31, just before the Labor Day holiday weekend.
Kennedy said regardless of mandates, individuals can still maintain positive health practices.
"Right now we need people to get healthy," he said. "We need people to make healthy lifestyle choices. They need to get back and see their doctors. They need to come in and get immunizations at the health department. The healthier a population is, the better it can battle a virus, regardless of mitigating measures. "
Kennedy said immunization at the health department are down. He said he thought it was because people are afraid to go out and get care.
"If we wanted to make the biggest impact in the country right now," he said, "we would probably mandate everyone to go for a 30-minute jog every day. It would help with all things that kill us, not just COVID."
Click HERE for the latest numbers statewide in Kansas.
