KC metro adds 174 new COVID-19 cases, the second highest gain since start of pandemic
The Kansas City metropolitan area added 174 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the second highest daily gain on record.
Only June 19 had a higher number of new cases with 193.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas has a total of 6,752 coronavirus cases.
The seven-day average for new cases in the metro is 133.
One new death was reported Tuesday, in Johnson County, bringing the metro’s total to 225.
Deaths in Johnson County nursing homes and assisted living facilities make up nearly 84% of the county’s total.
An outbreak at Garden Terrace at Overland Park has been linked to 58 cases and 11 deaths.
Sanmi Areola, director of the county’s health department, said the facility “is working hard to curtail the spread of the virus. Once it is introduced into a facility, as you can see, it is very difficult to eradicate it.”
The Johnson County Health Department is offering free testing this week for anyone who lives or works in the county even if they do not have symptoms.
The drive-thru tests are being conducted from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, 13720 Roe Avenue in Leawood.
Missouri reported 18,577 cases including 595 patients hospitalized Tuesday and 966 deaths.
Kansas has at least 12,465 cases including a total of 1,056 hospitalizations and 259 deaths.
Nationwide, more than 2.3 million people have contracted the virus and more than 121,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Star reporters Laura Bauer and Rylie Koester contributed to this story.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 4:59 PM.
