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Reno County health officials plead for expanded testing to help keep schools open
Summary
Health staff and local clinicians told the county commission that wider community testing, combined with masks and hygiene, is needed to lower the positive-test rate to 5% or less and support school reopening; county staff said a competitive grant is pending and additional local funding is possible after state approval.
Karen Hammersmith reported the county's most recent COVID numbers to the commission, saying, "We have 133 active cases as of this morning with 6 clusters. We've had 1 fatality," and laid out steps county staff are pursuing to increase testing and public outreach.
County commissioners heard that Reno County has tested 6,815 people with 747 positive results and 6,068 negatives (613 recoveries reported). Hammersmith said the county's community positive-test rate is about 7.1%, and the countywide positive-test rate (including congregate settings) is roughly 10.96%. She told commissioners the health department is exploring community screening programs and seeking funds to…
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