Kansas City metro adds nearly 500 more COVID-19 cases, surpassing 50,000 total cases
Nearly 500 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed Tuesday in the Kansas City metro, pushing the area’s total past 50,000 cases.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri, as well as Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, gained 489 cases for a total of 50,091 cases.
The seven-day average for new cases had dropped below 400 for five days, but was back up to 402 on Tuesday. One week ago, it was 456. Two weeks ago, it was 320.
The seven-day positive test rate was 16.13% in Kansas City, 17.9% in Jackson County, 19.87% in Clay County and 19.08% in Platte County.
The 14-day positive test rate, excluding repeat tests, was 14.9% in Johnson County.
The overall positive test rate was 17.4% in Wyandotte County.
Six new deaths were reported, raising the metro’s total to 741.
The University of Kansas Health System reported 36 patients hospitalized for the virus, up seven from Monday.
“That’s getting to be a rising concern — the number of beds that are being taken and the number of beds available,” said Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the health system.
Health experts said the curve has been bent before and it can be done again.
“It’s the rules of infection control that bend it,” Stites said during a news briefing hosted by the health system. “Those rules are known to you, right? You know the right choices. The choices are shelter at home ... wear a mask, don’t go out at large gatherings. And even though it is so tempting to think ‘Oh I’m trying not to get outside of my bubble,’ you got to really do it. And if you don’t do it, there’s a lot of COVID out there right now and it will spread.”
On Tuesday, Missouri confirmed 172,717 cases including 2,838 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 22.9%, excluding repeat tests.
Kansas reported 78,676 cases including 976 deaths. There were 362 hospitalizations and 235 active clusters, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s most recent update.
Across the country, more than 8.7 million people have contracted the virus and 226,171 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
