Alva Review-Courier -

HAYS, Kan. (AP) — Fueled in part by college students returning to classes, Kansas has set another pandemic record for the seven-day increase in coronavirus cases, with the surge prompting the Lawrence school district to put the brakes on some fall sports and Hays to extend its mask ordinance.

Statewide, the number of new reported cases rose by 1,111 from Wednesday to Friday, bringing the total to 41,048. The state Department of Health and Environment also reported an additional six COVID-19-related deaths, to put the pandemic total at 443.

The average for the seven days ending Friday was 599, 3.6% more than the previous record of 578 for the seven days ending Wednesday. The state also reported 16 clusters in colleges and universities with 189 cases.

Gov. Laura Kelly called the most recent spike in coronavirus cases "horrendous" and said her administration is looking into why it has occurred. But she said outbreaks on college campuses and fraternities and sororities are a factor.

"We cannot continue to go down this path," she told reporters during an impromptu news conference.

She said fraternities and sororities are "clearly the kind of environment that will create problems."

"We need to, now, move into prevention and make sure we've protocols in place and accountability in place," she said. "We just can't let this continue to happen. You know, these same kids who are in these fraternities and sororities or in mass gatherings or dorms will be going back out into their communities at times, and we can't just have them become super-spreaders."

Kelly said she keeps "pounding" on her message of wearing masks because she doesn't want to shut schools or businesses down. She said K-12 schools are doing a good job of handling precautions against the coronavirus.

Amid the rise, the Lawrence school district is following the recommendation of Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and suspending competitions for some fall sports starting Monday, the Lawrence Journal-World reported.

"We recognize that the entry testing and high number of tests of University of Kansas students drove the number of new cases," health department Director Dan Partridge said in a news release. "Given those COVID-19 cases are now in our community, we believe it's prudent to move to phase Yellow."

The county had been in a green tier, which allows for for all activities to continue, as long as standard public safety precautions are taken.

In Hays, officials voted to extend the city's face mask ordinance for five more weeks amid a rise in cases as students return to Fort Hays State University. The Hays Post reported that the ordinance had been set to expire Monday. City commissioners voted 3-2 Thursday to extend it through Oct. 5.

"We don't get to be tired of the virus, and that doesn't make it go away," said Ellis County Health Services director Jason Kennedy.

Meanwhile, the Kansas Department of Labor announced Friday that the agency will extend its call center hours to weekday evenings and Saturdays for general inquiries, claim status updates and technical assistance. People with more complex questions will need to call during regular hours.

"Extending our call center hours makes sense during this unprecedented pandemic," the agency's acting secretary, Ryan Wright, said in a news release. "The Department of Labor is making itself available to answer questions when it is convenient for claimants.