More than 30 cases, including four deaths, hit Logan nursing home
By KIRBY ROSS
Phillips County Review
Recently Main Street Media ran a very well-received seven-part 1918-1920 SpanishāFlu Pandemic series in six north-central Kansas newspapers. For those who read it, they know that in January 1920 Phillips County made statewide headlines for being Kansasā top hotspot for that deadly disease.
2020 PANDEMIC OUTBREAK
Now, exactly one century later, and with a mass town hall political rally slated to take place in Phillipsburg just 48 hours from now on Wed., July 15, Phillips County is once again making headlines, this time national, for being Kansas' top hotspot in a deadly pandemic outbreak; this time for Coronavirus COVID-19.
That dubious distinction is now occurring as the virus found a way into the Logan Manor Nursing Home in Logan two weeks ago, where it has been cutting a devastating path through that facility ever since.
With the COVID pandemic hitting Kansas in March, its march through Phillips County had originally been a slow one.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported the first case as hitting the county in Phillipsburg the week of April 5.
Phillips County case number two showed up around a month later during the week of May 10. That infection was also in Phillipsburg.
And during the week of June 7 a third case hit in rural Phillipsburg.
All three cases were isolated, and are unrelated to one another.
Then came Logan in early July.
With each new diagnosed COVID-19 infection taking place at close to 30-day intervals, what is happening as a result of the latest outbreak is sending the people of Phillips County reeling.
In the first week of July the KDHE, in conjunction with the Phillips County Health Office, announced that COVID-19 had made its way past the extraordinary screening and protective measures put in place at the 36-bed Logan Manor Nursing Home in Logan in southwest Phillips County.
On Wednesday, July 1, four total cases had been identified there.
On Thursday, July 2, that count was up to seven.
After that, the numbers exploded. On Friday, July 3, there were now 25 cases -- 17 residents and eight staff members. Most infected residents were quarantined in place, with some of the most ill being transported to Kearney and Hays hospitals.
First came the diagnoses -- then the deaths. Those started on Tuesday, July 7, as two male residents, ages 87 and 47, were claimed by the effects of the disease. The elderly man passed away in the Logan facility, while the younger man died at Hays Medical Center.
Late Thursday, July 9, and early Friday, July 10, two more Logan Manor resident fatalities occurred. āAnd following another round of testing last week there were also eight new COVID diagnoses -- five residents and three staff -- bringing the total Logan Manor statistics as of July 10 up to four dead, and 33 infected (not including the original three earlier unrelated cases elsewhere in the county).
Those two more recent July 9-10 deaths involved a 92-year-old woman and 60-year-old man. āBoth passed away at Logan Manor.
24/7 WALL STREET IDENTIFIES PHILLIPS COUNTY AS TOP KANSAS HOTSPOT
That same day, Friday, July 10, 24/7 Wall Street, a New York-based finance and business publication, ran a report identifying the top counties āin every state where COVID-19 is growing the fastest.ā
Note should be made that 24/7 Wall Street's study includes statistics through Tuesday, July 7, and does not include the newest Phillips County cases and deaths still hitting after that.
Prefacing its article with the following, the publication noted:
āMore than 3 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the United States, and more than 130,000 people have died as a result of the coronavirus, by far the most cases and deaths of any country.
āWithin the United States the extent of the spread varies considerably from state to state, and even from county to county.
āAs the number of daily new cases is declining in some parts of the U.S., they are spiking alarmingly in others. In the vast majority of states the number of daily new cases is rising, and a number of states have paused their planned reopenings as a result.
āUsing data from state and local health departments, we compiled and reviewed the average of new daily confirmed COVID-19 cases for the week ending July 7 and compared it to the average of new daily cases from the previous week to determine the county in each state where the virus is growing the fastest.ā
As part of its analysis 24/7 reported the average number of new daily cases per capita nationwide has increased from 11.1 per 100,000 people during the week ending June 30, to 14.8 per 100,000 in the week ending July 7.
In its look at the counties in the fastest growing outbreak states, 24/7 identified Phillips County as having the fastest growing outbreak in Kansas.
In naming it the top hotspot, 24/7 Wall Street provided the following data:
Kansas: Phillips County
ā¢Change in daily average new COVID cases week over week: 15.1 per 100,000 people
ā¢Average new daily cases in Phillips County in 7 days ending July 7: 17 per 100,000
ā¢Average new daily cases in Phillips County in 7 days ending June 30: 2 per 100,000
ā¢Average new daily cases in Kansas in 7 days ending July 7: 11 per 100,000
ā¢Cumulative confirmed COVID cases in Phillips County as of July 7: 499 per 100,000 people (total: 27)
ā¢ Population: 5,408
ā¢ Largest place in Phillips County: Phillipsburg
PHILLIPS COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER STATEMENT
Pete Rogers, July 10: āWe are incredibly saddened for the families, residents and staff at Logan Manor. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Just a reminder: use social distancing, wear masks in public where social distancing isnāt likely, use good hand hygiene, and stay home if you are feeling ill or have a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or greater.ā
Republished with permission