Number of new cases in Kansas City metro area increases as three more deaths reported
The Kansas City metropolitan area saw an increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases on Thursday as three more deaths were reported.
Sixty-two cases were added in the area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.
New cases were identified Thursday in each of the six jurisdictions.
The area has a total of 3,477 cases.
This week, the number of new cases increased by 33 on Monday, 30 on Tuesday and 45 on Wednesday.
Platte County recorded its first death. The other two deaths were in Jackson and Johnson counties.
The metro has a total of 170 coronavirus deaths.
As Memorial Day weekend approaches, experts at the University of Kansas Health System said people should exercise caution to prevent “super spreader events.” Factors that impact those events include the number of people gathered, the amount of space they have and the amount of time they are together, said Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at he health system.
“Hopefully as we get back out into public and people are gathering, hopefully not more than 10, and doing the social distancing, we won’t see a surge or a spike in cases,” he said.
On Thursday, Missouri reported 11,340 cases including 661 deaths. A total of 161,984 patients have been tested.
Kansas has at least 8,539 cases including 178 deaths. Another 62,664 tests have been negative.
Nationwide, more than 1.5 million people have contracted the virus and more than 93,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
