Adrienne Byrne, Sedgwick County Health Director, gave an update Wednesday morning on COVID-19.
Byrne told the Sedgwick County Commission that the rate of spread of the virus in the U.S. is alarming.
"3 weeks ago today, the United States had 14 cases. Last Wednesday, we had 938 cases. This morning we had approximately 6500 cases," she said.
Byrne also stressed the importance of keeping our distance from others during the coronavirus threat.
"By putting these severe measures in, and the social distancing, we're hoping to flatten that curve. And that curve flattening doesn't mean that we don't end up with as many cases, but the hope is that we slow it down, so our medical system has an opportunity to treat those that they need to treat," Byrne said.
Sedgwick County officals remind residents that public gatherings of more than 50 attendees are prohibited.
In other news, the county passed a resolution that will continue the local state of emergency. This past Monday's resolution would have been in effect until Monday, March 23. The new resolution will continue the state of emergency until the county commission votes to remove it.
According to County Manager Tom Stolz, the main reason for the resolution is to free up county's ability to receive moneys back from the state and federal government, in response to the outbreak.
