HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The number of deaths of Reno County residents increased from 2019 to 2020.
That’s according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Bureau of Vital Statistics. While it is not a pleasant subject to cover, many do wonder how much of an impact the pandemic had on the number of people who lost their lives year-over-year.
In 2020, 868 county residents died compared with 746 in 2019. Of those, 94 were COVID related, 83 of those COVID deaths were over the age of 65, while 11 were aged 45-64. With a little over three weeks left until the end of the year, the county has seen 81 COVID deaths in 2021. Let it be known that 2019 saw the sixth-most deaths of Reno County residents in 20 years.
The number of COVID deaths was pale by comparison with other factors including heart disease, which claimed 157 lives, and cancer, which took another 129 loved ones. Still, COVID was the third-leading cause of death in 2020, according to the numbers.
Though no number is good, there was a drop in deaths due to suicide from 18 in 2019 to 13 last year, and the number of people who died from kidney disease fell from 24 in 2019 to just nine in 2020.
All of the numbers can be found at the Kansas Information for Communities website at kic.kdheks.gov.
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