You wouldn’t know it from media’s and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s hyper-focus on case increases, but the rates of COVID hospitalization and death continue to decline. Updated charts in the COVID Information Center at Kansas Policy Institute, using data from the 
Kansas Department of Health and Environment, show the hospitalization rate — the percentage of total reported cases that required hospitalization — fell from 7.31% on July 6 to 5.37% as of September 2. Kansas Policy Institute is the Sentinel’s parent company.
The mortality rate (COVID deaths divided by reported cases) has steadily declined from 1.66% on July 6 to 1.04% as of September 2.
Those are the cumulative rates for all cases. Looking just at the 27,039 cases reported between July 6 and September 2, only 4.2% required hospitalization and the mortality rate was 0.66%. An unknown number of hospitalizations and deaths reported in July may have resulted from cases reported prior to July 6.
About a quarter of all COVID cases and 64% of the deaths are isolated in 528 clusters identified by KDHE. Meatpacking facilities have the largest of cases at 3,447 but only 19 deaths, for a mortality rate of 0.6%. Correctional facilities account for 2,157 cases and six deaths.
Long-term care facilities have 1,899 cases and 233 deaths, for a mortality rate of 12.3%.
There are 164 private companies that collectively account for 1,214 cases and eight deaths. Other clusters include 83 gatherings (848 cases and 18 deaths), 28 group living facilities (236 cases, 5 deaths), 18 schools and daycare facilities (85 cases, no deaths), 24 college clusters (388 cases, no deaths), sports (119 cases, no deaths), and 25 health care facilities (218 cases, 5 deaths).
Other charts and tables in the COVID Information Center include:
- Comparative trends – cases, hospitalizations, and deaths for the State of Kansas, Johnson County, Wyandotte County, and Kansas City, Missouri
- Cases, deaths, mortality rate, and infection rate by county
- Hospital beds available in Kansas and regional states
- Cases and deaths by state
- Pneumonia, COVID, and flu deaths
- COVID economic impact
