Kansas City metro COVID-19 deaths rise to 53; Kansas and Missouri report more cases
The number of people infected with the new coronavirus rose Sunday in the Kansas City metropolitan area, bringing deaths to at least 53 and confirmed cases to more than 1,200.
In the five-county area, at least 1,207 cases have been reported by health officials in Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri, and in Kansas City, according to data compiled by The Star.
In a Sunday post on Twitter, Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, cautioned that less testing was often conducted on weekends.
“Mondays are usually a bit more grim,” he wrote. “We know the virus doesn’t take weekends off!”
As of Sunday afternoon, officials in Missouri have confirmed 4,160 cases and 110 deaths.
St. Louis County continued to report the highest number of positive tests, with more than 1,630 cases and 42 deaths. St. Louis city has seen 15 deaths and more than 610 cases.
The Kansas City Health Department reported eight deaths and 300 confirmed cases. In Jackson County, there were six deaths and at least 213 cases, according to state data.
Clay County has seen one death and 48 cases while Platte County has recorded no deaths and 25 cases.
Kansas
Statewide, Kansas has confirmed 1,337 cases and 56 deaths. Nearly 300 people have been hospitalized throughout the state.
The largest number of cases was reported in Wyandotte County, which recorded its first COVID-19 related death about a month ago. As of Sunday, the county saw 24 deaths, 56 patients hospitalized and 331 cases.
At least 10 of the deaths and 92 of the cases reported in Wyandotte County were connected to the Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation Center, the site of the state’s largest outbreak of COVID-19.
In Johnson County, which has recorded the second highest number of cases in the state, officials reported 14 deaths and 300 cases.
Sedgwick County has also seen cases in the triple digits, with 196 reported as of Sunday.
Of the more than 13,000 Kansans tested, about 10% had the virus, according to statewide data. About 9% of the more than 45,000 people tested in Missouri have come back positive. The rates showed a slight increase after running closer to 8 percent in previous weeks.
This story was originally published April 12, 2020 at 3:05 PM.
