Kansas City area adds 6 deaths, 479 new cases of coronavirus as hospitals face influx
The Kansas City metropolitan area added 479 new cases of COVID-19 and six additional deaths from the virus, according to numbers reported to health agencies Saturday.
The area — which encompasses Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas — now has a total of 46,391 cases. Across the metro, 654 people have died.
Kansas City and Jackson County each accounted for three of the new deaths, according to statistics from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The city also reported 236 new cases, for 13,499 total. Jackson County reported 26 new cases, for a total of 9,088.
Clay County reported 26 new cases for 2,283 total and Platte County added 12 cases for a total count of 888.
On the Kansas side, Johnson County added 114 cases, for a total of 12,858, and Wyandotte County reported 65 new cases, bringing the county’s total to 7,775.
The Kansas City area’s seven-day average of cases is 382. A week ago, it was 380. Two weeks ago, it was 408.
According to Marc Larsen, operations director of Saint Luke’s COVID Response Team, some Kansas City area hospitals are facing their biggest influx of coronavirus patients since the pandemic. Eight area hospitals and emergency departments temporarily diverted ambulances for all who weren’t in the most critical need — such as stroke, heart attack and trauma patients — because of high patient volumes.
Larsen said the hospitals are “bursting at the seams.”
Missouri has reported 154,928 cases and 2,580 deaths. People test positive at a rate of about 6.8%.
Kansas reports 70,855 cases and 859 deaths. The state’s positive test rate is about 13.7%.
