City Cowley County Health Department disease investigation, contact tracing and testing efforts have identified four (4) additional cases of COVID-19 in Cowley County.
The new cases are all interrelated and affirm that COVID-19 is present in the county and is easily spreading through person to person contact. The four newly discovered cases are all related to the case that was reported on Friday May 29, 2020. Additional testing is ongoing and
additional cases are expected to be found. The mobility of people within the county and interactions in all communities places the entire county at risk for infection. Currently three local employers are responding with the Health Department in efforts to identify, isolate, and test
employees who may have been exposed through worksites in order to control any further spread of the virus. Early indications are that this current outbreak is associated to travel to and social interaction in a southwestern Kansas county with widespread COVID-19 infection ongoing.
On Sunday the Public Health Officer was contacted by a local hospital and informed of an additional positive COVID-19 test result. This case is NOT connected to the other five (5) cases already identified. This case involves an older adult female that went to visit an ill child in another Kansas community. While there she was exposed to the virus. She returned to Cowley County and became ill then went to a hospital for help. She and an additional family member are now under quarantine in their home.
The new cases of COVID-19 bring our current active cases to six (6) in the county. In total Cowley County now has a count of 10 total cases since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. This number is expected to increase. All residents are reminded to take all the required precautions to prevent the spread of illness and to exercise caution when interacting in public situations. More information regarding the number of illnesses and continuing spread of this virus will published as it is known