Riley County is reporting two new COVID related deaths this week, along with its highest increase in cases.
A 40 year-old unvaccinated male tested positive on December 21, 2021 and died January 7 at Ascension Via Christi hospital in Manhattan. An 86 year-old fully vaccinated male tested positive for COVID-19 on January 8 and passed away January 10. This now brings the total number in deaths the county to 68.
The county has also identified 1,202 new COVID cases and 389 additional recoveries since the last report on January 5. There are currently 1,017 active cases in Riley County and the percent of positive test results rose to 20.19% for the last two-week period.
This is the highest increase in case numbers in Riley County since the start of the pandemic. The next highest increase was in November of 2020 with 469 new cases identified in a single report.
However, this week’s total also includes patients who tested positive over the holidays, as reporting of results from some facilities was delayed. No at-home test results are included in official reports from the county or the state.
There have been at least five cases of the Omicron variant in Riley County as identified by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). KDHE tests roughly 2% of positive cases for variants of concern, such as Omicron.
