Just shy of a new record, Kansas City metro records more than 440 new COVID-19 cases
The Kansas City metro reported more than 400 new COVID-19 cases Friday for the second time since the pandemic began.
At least 442 new cases of the new coronavirus were reported Friday. That’s the second highest increase in cases so far, just one case shy of the record increase of 443 which was recorded on July 3.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas has recorded a total of 12,994 coronavirus cases.
The seven-day rolling average of new cases in the metro is 313. Last week it was 266. Two weeks ago, it was 222.
No new deaths were reported Friday. A total of 283 people have died in the metro area.
As cases rise in the Kansas City area, Steve Stites, chief medical officer for the University of Kansas Health System, said in a daily briefing that hospitals across the area have seen increases in hospitalization.
“If you look at the curves the lines are straight up,” Stites said. “I would not be surprised to see us get to 60 or 70 cases in the next couple weeks.”
Currently 35 people are hospitalized in the University of Kansas Hospital System.
As cases in Kansas and Missouri spike, Stites said, wearing masks and social distancing is even more important.
On Friday, Missouri listed 31,290 cases, including 1,121 deaths and 875 people hospitalized.
The positive test rate was 5.6%.
On Friday Kansas reported 21,965 cases, including 299 deaths.
The positive test rate was 8.8%.
Nationwide, the virus has infected more than 3.6 million people killing more than 138,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 4:03 PM.
