TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas was much larger to end 2021 than on New Year's Day a year ago.
On January 1, 2021, the Kansas Department of Health reported an increase of 5,312 cases of COVID to a total of 227,745 statewide. Coronavirus deaths were reported at 2,879 an increase of 138.
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This year, due to the holiday, the KDHE released no new numbers on New Year's Eve Friday. On Wednesday, the state reported an increase of 7,083 COVID cases for a total of 519,544. The state reported 37 additional COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday for a total of 7,001 since the beginning of the pandemic.
As of August 1, 2021, in accordance with an updated CDC/CSTE surveillance case definition, a confirmed case is defined as a person who tested positive by molecular detection (e.g., PCR, NAA) or identification of SARS-CoV-2 through genetic sequencing. A probable case is defined as a person with: a) presumptive lab evidence (antigen) or b) no lab testing but meeting clinical case criteria and is epi-linked. A person will be counted as a new surveillance case (e.g. reinfection) if they test positive for SARS-CoV-2 by a diagnostic test (i.e., molecular, antigen) and it has been greater than 90 days since the previous positive diagnostic test. In addition, a person with sequencing results identifying different SARS-CoV-2 lineages regardless of the time since the previous specimen sequenced will be counted as a new surveillance case.
Cases occurring between September 1, 2020 and July 29, 2021 were classified by previous CDC/CSTE case definition, and cases prior to September 1, 2020 were classified by the original case definition.