BY ROD ZOOK
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The total number of COVID cases has jumped by more than 530 since Nov 1.
As of Tuesday morning, the total number of county residents that have tested positive for COVID stands at 11,112.
The number of active cases is staying rather flat at 338. By comparison, on November 16 of 2020 the active case count was at 997. The number of cases in the first 12 days of November of last year jumped by 1,241.
It’s something the Reno County Health Department continues to watch.
“We definitely have seen a bump in cases again and when you look at pandemics you see them come in waves,” Karen Hamnmersmith with the Reno County Health Department said.
Hammersmith says that a combination of vaccinations and better understanding of the virus is helping keep the numbers in check.
“What I think is helping from that first wave is the vaccine,” Hammersmith said. “We really are attributing that it hasn’t spiked to a thousand.”
Hammersmith says that since last year treatment for COVID has improved especially with the use of monoclonal antibodies.
“The treatment is out there as well, we have a better treatment with the monoclonal antibodies,” Hammersmith said. “We do see as the numbers go up we still see more hospitalizations, but we really want to get the word out about the monoclonal antibodies.”
The number of fatalities from COVID in the county is still at 172.
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