Kansas City metro sees biggest jump in new COVID-19 cases in two weeks with 77
The number of new COVID-19 cases in the Kansas City metropolitan area jumped the most in two weeks as 77 cases were added Friday and two deaths.
A total of 3,554 cases have been identified in the metro, defined as Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.
Cases rose this week by 33 on Monday, 30 on Tuesday, 45 on Wednesday and 62 on Thursday.
The area hasn’t seen a spike as high as 77 since May 8, when 96 new cases were confirmed.
Two more deaths were reported Friday in Kansas City and Johnson County.
The metro has recorded 172 coronavirus deaths.
Johnson County reported no new COVID-19 cases on Friday while Kansas City saw the steepest increase with 40.
Wyandotte County has the most cases overall with 1,227.
Allen Greiner, medical officer for the Unified Government, said they have been tracking data, including the 14-day moving average of new cases.
“We got pretty high there, but we’re really pleased that that’s coming down even with some of the phased reopening activities that are going on,” he said during a media briefing with the University of Kansas Health System.
On Friday, Wyandotte County eased restrictions and joined Kansas in Phase 2 of the state’s recovery plan, which allows movie theaters, museums, non-tribal casinos and other indoor entertainment venues to open their doors.
Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, urged people to be careful.
“The virus is still out there,” Norman told reporters. “We can’t throw caution to the wind now.”
As of Friday, Missouri reported 11,340 cases including 661 deaths. A total of 172,946 patients have been tested.
Kansas confirmed 8,958 cases including 185 deaths. Another 67,476 tests have been negative.
Across the country, more than 1.5 million people have contracted the coronavirus and more than 95,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
