Riley County Reports Two New COVID-19 Outbreaks

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Riley County health officials confirmed two new coronavirus outbreaks Wednesday at the Smith Scholarship House and Via Christi Village.

Via Christi Village, a Manhattan independent and assisted living facility, has seven active cases. The Smith Scholarship House, an all-male scholarship and cooperative living residence at Kansas State University, has five active cases for a total of 10 since the outbreak began.

Riley County now has 17 active outbreaks, according to the Riley County Health Department.

Active outbreak locations include 12 K-State Greek houses and three other facilities. Homestead Assisted Living has 13 active cases with 22 total. K-State football has four active cases with 56 total since the outbreak began.

Several K-State Greek organizations have zero active cases but remain on the outbreak list because officials require 28 days without a new positive test before declaring an outbreak closed.

Outbreaks at K-State's Delta Sigma Pi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Pi Delta Theta and Farmhouse fraternities are considered closed, as are outbreaks at Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta sororities.

Health officials said the Theta Xi and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity outbreaks could close Saturday if no new cases arise.

FIRST RESPONDERS

A second Manhattan firefighter tested positive for the coronavirus Wednesday, officials said. The firefighter experienced symptoms while on duty and left work to get tested. The person is recovering in isolation at home. The Manhattan Fire Department has one active case and one recovered case.

The Riley County Police Department reported two new positive cases Thursday for a total of three active cases. Contact tracing showed no close contact between the first case and the additional cases, officials said. All three are recovering at home with mild symptoms.

COUNTY TOTALS

Riley County confirmed 42 new coronavirus cases Wednesday since Monday's report. The county and Kansas Department of Health and Environment release data Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The county has reported 1,857 total cases since the pandemic began in March. Of those, 267 are active, 1,582 have recovered and eight people have died after testing positive.