Reno County records another confirmed COVID-19 case
Reno County reported its 15th confirmed case of the novel coronavirus, in a patient who is now on a ventilator at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.
Two other people are in isolation at the hospital, suspected of having the virus, though they are not in the hospital’s COVID-19 ward, according to Chuck Welch, Hutchinson Regional Medical Center vice president.
Test results for two others who had been identified as suspect COVID-19 cases at the hospital, however, came back negative over the weekend, while two others listed as suspect among the county’s 10 self-identified cases were also ruled out by testing.
There are currently tests for 42 people pending at state or private state labs, said Reno County Health Department Director Nick Baldetti.
The latest confirmed case is a man in his 70s. It was unknown where the person contracted the disease, Baldetti said, indicating potentially a third case of community spread.
The 15 includes the Ford County case which relocated to Reno County who has now since returned home out-of-state, and 14 that were locally confirmed through testing.
The self-reporting form can be found at the county’s COVID-19 Information Center on the county website. (
https://www.renogov.org/741/COVID-19).
“The Health Department seeks to mobilize residents to self-report their symptomology through the self-report form to better assist in quantifying and tracking case contact and spread within the county,” Baldetti stated in a release.
“This form is designed to both capture responses from those who have already been experiencing symptoms prior to today as well as those residents who begin to showcase symptoms in the coming weeks and months.”
The eight suspected cases are from among 68 submitted with contact information. Three of them, including the two now ruled out, were recommended for testing, he said. The third case remains pending.
Governor Laura Kelly stated over the weekend the state will make additional test kits available where there are large “cluster” outbreaks, including in Ford and Finney counties, but Reno County doesn’t expect to receive any, Baldetti said.
Cases in Ford County reached 127 over the weekend, rising from just two cases less than two weeks ago, while Finney and Seward counties both recorded about three dozen each.
Information was not available on how many individuals from the area if any are hospitalized and Reno County officials said they’d not been apprised of any anticipated transfers of patients to Reno County.
“We’re watching very closely,” Welch said. “We know Dodge City’s capabilities and we’re just trying to keep our finger on the pulse of the situation as much as we can.”
Baldetti said he’s still hopeful there will be an expansion of testing within the county, both due to “more liberal testing criteria for private care physicians,” as well as wider availability of testing materials.
Noting the expanded testing out west was due to clusters primarily in meatpacking facilities, Baldetti said the county is monitoring local food processing as well and “we’ve not had any issues.”
“If we did have activity like that it would ... target us for increased capacity at a greater clip,” Baldetti said. “In some respects, we can be thankful, but for others, it’s also frustrating in terms of not having the capacity.”
Alma Foods LLC in Alma announced on Monday it was closing its processing facility for two weeks after one employee tested positive for COVID-19.
“Given that this is a smaller production facility with minimal staffing, the company decided it was the best decision to pause the operations for 14 days to ensure the safety of its approximately 100 team members,” Shane Weers, plant manager, stated in a release.
“In the meantime, we continue to strategically manage our supply chain and am confident we will continue to meet the needs of our customers during this time,” he stated.
Under its pay program, all Alma Foods team members will continue to receive 100 percent of their base pay and benefits during the 14-day pause in production.
When the facility reopens, additional safety protocols for team members will be in place, including taking team members’ temperatures, mandatory masks and additional protective and safety enhancements.
Alma Foods, a subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation, produces a line of fully cooked meals and entrees as well as Saucy Blues barbeque for foodservice.
Garden City Telegram (Garden City, KS) -
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