19 more die from COVID in Kansas City metro as average for new cases rises for 6th day
The average for new COVID-19 cases continued to rise in the Kansas City area as the metro added 19 deaths on Tuesday.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri, and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 855 cases for a total of 90,454 to date.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services conducted its weekly review of death certificates, leading to a spike in reported deaths.
The department linked 137 statewide deaths associated with COVID-19. Of those, one occurred in August, 11 were in October and 125 were in November.
In the metro, Kansas City added nine deaths, Jackson County added three and Clay County added four.
On the Kansas side, Johnson County added three deaths, raising the area’s total to 1,099.
The seven-day average for new cases in the metro increased for the sixth consecutive day. On Tuesday, it sat at 1,014. One week ago, it was 923. Two weeks ago, it was 1,156.
The number of patients being treated at The University of Kansas Health System rose to 94, up from 82 on Monday. Of the 94, 52 are in the intensive care unit with 25 on ventilators.
“Unfortunately our numbers here at the hospital have jumped up, I think pretty significantly,” said Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. “There were some discharges, but of course the overall admits were much more than the discharges.”
On Tuesday, Missouri confirmed 328,206 cases including 4,355 deaths. There were 2,628 hospitalizations with 17% of ICU beds remaining. The seven-day positive test rate was 19.4%.
Kansas reported 174,025 cases including 1,856 deaths. There were 623 hospitalizations with 38% of ICU beds available. The monthly positive test rate was 17.1%.
Across the country, more than 15 million people have contracted the virus and 285,190 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 2:42 PM.
