Kansas City metro adds over 250 COVID-19 cases; KU reports uptick in hospitalizations
The Kansas City metropolitan area added more than 250 COVID-19 cases and five deaths Wednesday.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, gained 255 coronavirus cases for a total of 42,103 to date.
The seven-day average for new cases was 325. One week ago, it was 340. Two weeks ago, it was 319.
The seven-day positive test rate was 9.46% in Kansas City, 9.69% in Jackson County, 9.37% in Clay County and 10.14% in Platte County, according to data from the state of Missouri.
Three deaths were reported in Jackson County and two were recorded in Johnson County, raising the metro’s total to 598.
The University of Kansas Health System said they were treating 34 patients for the virus, up three from Tuesday. Ten of those patients were in the intensive care unit.
“Our numbers today are not the best,” said Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. “We seem to be going higher and increasing in our acute infections.”
COVID-19 hospitalizations are up at several area hospitals, according to Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the health system.
“It is a concern,” he said. “I don’t think we’re in danger on hospital beds, but this is a higher number and we’re entering in that time of the year where people are sicker in general and hospital census tends to rise.”
He encouraged people to get the flu shot.
On Wednesday, Missouri reported 135,651 total cases, including 2,236 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 13.7%.
Kansas recorded 63,952 cases, including 3,121 hospitalizations and 723 deaths.
Across the country, more than 7.5 million people have been infected with the virus, and 211,343 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
