Young people now getting the disease in Phillips County
By KIRBY ROSS
Phillips County Review
PHILLIPSBURG — Despite being a small population county, Phillips County continues to be particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the Review's most recent report utilizing July 20 Phillips County Health Department statistics, another death has occurred related to the Logan Manor cluster outbreak. On Tuesday, July 21, a 75-year-old woman passed away at the facility. This death brings the COVID toll in Phillips County to seven.
In addition, in the past week another eight new cases have been confirmed county-wide, bringing the total diagnosed number up to 44. With those new cases, for the first time the virus has reached down into the youngest age groups — those infected now include a 9-year-old boy, a 32-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman. Up until now, the youngest victims were in their 40s.
With the death toll at seven and a total diagnosed count at 44, the mortality rate in Phillips County is hitting a devastating 15.9 percent. That compares to a COVID-19 mortality of 1.3 percent in Kansas as a whole; 3.4 percent in the United States; and 3.9 percent worldwide.