Kansas City metro adds more than 400 new COVID-19 cases, exceeding 40,000 total cases
The Kansas City metropolitan area added more than 400 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, pushing the total number of cases over 40,000.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 435 cases for a total of 40,265 to date.
The seven-day average for new cases continues to climb. Two weeks ago, it was 283. One week ago, it was 327. On Thursday, it stood at 349, the highest it has been since Sept. 2, according to data maintained by The Star.
The seven-day positive test rate was 12.06% in Kansas City, 10.05% in Jackson County, 10.7% in Clay County and 15.04% in Platte County.
The 14-day positive test rate in Johnson County was 11.9%.
The overall positive test rate was 17.3% in Wyandotte County.
The metro added one new death, in Kansas City, raising the area’s total to 573.
The University of Kansas Health System reported 34 patients hospitalized for the virus, up three from Wednesday. Nine of the 34 are in the intensive care unit.
“We know that the cases in the Kansas City area are up compared to where they were three weeks ago,” said Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. “Unfortunately our hospitalization numbers are up as well.”
Chief medical officer Steve Stites said the next few months could “be a bumpy ride,” especially with the cold and flu season approaching.
On Thursday, Missouri confirmed 127,912 cases to date, including 2,128 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 14.1%.
Kansas has reported at least 59,749 cases to date, including 678 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 7.3%.
Across the country, more than 7.2 million people have contracted the virus and 207,374 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 3:00 PM.
