KC area adds nearly 950 COVID-19 cases as KU Health System has record hospitalizations
The Kansas City metropolitan area added nearly 950 COVID-19 cases on Monday, further driving up the average for new cases to a record level.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri, as well as Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, gained 946 cases for a total of 59,873.
The seven-day average for new cases was a record 859. One week ago, it was 608. The average has more than doubled from two weeks ago when it was 379, according to data maintained by The Star.
A rise in cases is generally followed by an increase in hospitalizations, causing concern about capacity for doctors at The University of Kansas Health System.
“That just portends not so good for what’s going to happen to the health care in Kansas City,” said chief medical officer Steve Stites.
The health system reported a record 68 patients hospitalized for the virus, up 15 from Friday.
“This is what we had feared,” said Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control.
Stites said early data from a Pfizer vaccine trial showed it was 90% effective.
“That is a true game changer,” he said.
Two deaths were added Monday in the metro, raising the total to 838.
On Monday, Missouri reported 212,441 cases including 3,153 deaths. The positive test rate, excluding repeat tests, was 37.7%.
And with more than 6,000 new cases over the weekend, Kansas surpassed 100,000 cases. The state has confirmed 103,553 total cases including 1,181 deaths. There are currently 500 hospitalizations and 297 active clusters.
Across the country, more than 10 million people have contracted the virus and 237,835 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
