KC metro breaks single-day COVID-19 record with more than 1,200 cases reported Tuesday
The Kansas City metropolitan area added more than 1,200 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest number of new daily cases recorded since the pandemic began.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri, as well as Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, gained 1,284 cases for a total of 61,157.
The previous record of 1,128 new cases was set Oct. 15 and came after Missouri failed to update statewide data for four days due to a technical problem.
The first case was reported March 7 in Johnson County.
The seven-day average for new cases now sits at 965. One week ago, it was 616. Two weeks ago, it was 402.
Johnson County added 404 cases on Tuesday, surpassing the previous record of 366. Health Department director Sanmi Areola said the county was concerned about the surging number of virus cases.
“We need to control the exponential increases in cases as soon as possible,” Areola said.
The University of Kansas Health System reported a record number of patients hospitalized for the virus with 72, up from 68 on Monday. Of those, 25 are in the intensive care unit with 16 on ventilators.
Fifteen deaths were reported on Tuesday, raising the metro’s total to 853. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said its weekly review of death certificates accounted for a spike in deaths.
On Tuesday, Missouri confirmed 216,697 cases including 3,299 deaths. The positive test rate, excluding repeat tests, was 39.4%.
Kansas reported 103,553 cases including 1,181 deaths. According to the state’s last update, there were 500 hospitalizations and 297 active clusters.
Across the country, more than 10.1 million people have contracted the virus and 239,002 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 4:15 PM.
