With 650 new infections Sunday, KC metro again breaks record for 7-day case average
An additional 650 residents in the Kansas City metro have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the region’s seven-day rolling average to its highest since the pandemic began.
In total, the virus has now infected 53,359 residents and killed 784 people across the metro, which encompasses Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri, and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.
In the last seven days, the area reported more than 4,400 new infections, bringing the average to 585 new cases a day. This time last week, that average was 364. Two weeks ago, it was 411.
The previous peak for the seven-day rolling average came Saturday, with 544 new infections a day. Before that, it was 507 on July 30.
The rolling average has increased every day since Oct. 24, when it was 359, according to data maintained by The Star.
On Friday, Johnson County health officials warned that the area was entering “dangerous territory” as infections spiked.
No additional deaths were reported Sunday. Eleven deaths were recorded in each of the three days prior, which brought the number of virus-related deaths in the last week to 50.
Across Missouri, 185,535 residents to date have been infected, including 3,026 who have died. Within the last seven days, the state’s positive test rate has been 14%.
When it last released data Friday, Kansas reported 85,181 infections and 1,029 deaths. The positive test rate was about 9%.
Nationwide, the virus has infected more than 9.1 million people, killing more than 230,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
