129 new COVID-19 cases reported Wednesday in Kansas City metro; total surpasses 4,550
An additional 129 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus were reported Wednesday by health officials across the Kansas City region.
The metro area — which includes Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas — had recorded 194 deaths as of Wednesday evening, up 14 from the week before.
Health officials in the metro recorded an additional 164 cases Tuesday, 81 on Monday and 71 on Sunday.
In total, 4,553 residents have been infected by COVID-19 in the region. That’s up from 3,883 a week before and 3,415 two weeks earlier on May 20, according to data maintained by The Star.
A recent outbreak was discovered at Aspen Paper Products Inc., a Kansas City paper goods manufacturer. About 200 employees tested positive for the virus, two weeks after the first case was found at the plant, the city’s health department said.
The vast majority had no symptoms, president and co-owner Bill Briggins said. He called it “an eye-opening revelation.”
Wyandotte County continues to outpace other counties in the metro in the number of positive test results and deaths, with 1,419 cases and 74 deaths. Nearly 500 people have recovered and 21 remained hospitalized, according to county data.
Johnson County has seen the second-highest number of deaths in the area with 66 as of Wednesday. Health officials there have confirmed 863 cases.
In Kansas City, there have been 27 deaths and 1,366 cases. In Jackson County, 656 have been infected and 22 have died.
Clay County has reported 177 cases and three deaths. Platte County has seen 72 residents test positive and two die.
As of Wednesday, Missouri has reported 13,767 cases and 786 deaths. Kansas has recorded 10,170 cases and 222 deaths.
Nationwide, there have been 1,849,560 confirmed infections and 107,093 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The Star’s Allie Kite contributed to this report.
