Dr. Lee Norman urges Kansans to stay vigilant after new coronavirus cases begin to level off

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — New data released on Sunday, July 26, shows that new coronavirus cases are leveling off slightly in Kansas.

“It’s kind of promising that it’s a leveling off for now but we can’t let our guard down,” said Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Norman says it is important to note that the data is only from a 7-day rolling average. He says it will take some serious dedication to get the curve to flatten and drop.

“We had it going ’til May 26, and then a bunch of things changed and you know counties and cities said, ‘Okay, let’s go party down’ and opened the doors up and it went badly. We’re back on the Nike swoosh growth phase.”

Wichita’s Dr. Chloe Steinshouer says although there is a slight flattening this is not the case for the 2-week rolling average. She says Sedgwick County is currently seeing 13% of people test positive for the virus.

“Sedgwick county is probably the worst county in the state right now and we would like to have things be about 5%,” said Norman.

“The trajectory is that Kansans and people throughout the country are not taking it seriously, so they need to take it seriously and do those things I’m so tired of talking about and you’re probably tired of hearing about,” said Norman.

He says it’s the same combination we’ve been hearing about since March, wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth, hand hygiene and avoiding mass gatherings.

“If we really did a great job for 28 days, 2 incubation periods, this virus would be nearly gone from our state, but people need to commit to that,” said Norman.

Norman suspects the slight flattening could be from people getting serious about schools opening, which is something he says has to continue.

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