Kansas City metro adds 112 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to nearly 8,500
The Kansas City metropolitan area saw its lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in more than a week with 112 reported Thursday.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas has a total of 8,489 cases.
There were 149 new cases on Monday, 136 on Tuesday and a record 307 on Wednesday.
The seven-day average for new cases is 188. One week ago, it was 153 and two weeks ago, it was 102.
The positive test rate Thursday was 5.65% in Kansas City, 4.82% in Jackson County, 2.9% in Clay County, 4.5% in Johnson County and 15.3% in Wyandotte County. Platte County does not provide this figure.
One new death was reported Thursday in Johnson County, bringing the metro’s total to 243.
People who go out in public in Kansas City, North Kansas City, Jackson County and Wyandotte County must wear a mask. A similar mandate will go into effect Friday in Kansas. Johnson County will uphold the state’s face covering mandate.
Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at the University of Kansas Health System, said the rule should be enforced.
“It’s going to be better for everyone,” Hawkinson said during a briefing hosted by the health system. “We know that universal masking decreases the spread of the virus, thereby decreasing illness, thereby decreasing critical illness and death.”
On Thursday, Missouri reported 22,283 cases, including 1,022 deaths.
Kansas has at least 14,990 cases, including 272 deaths.
Across the U.S., more than 2.7 million people have contracted the virus and more than 128,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
