Johnson County reports 9 more COVID deaths as KC metro death toll surpasses 1,100
An additional nine coronavirus-related deaths were reported Wednesday in Kansas’ Johnson County, bringing the virus death toll across the Kansas City metro area to 1,108.
Another 1,002 infections were recorded Wednesday. In total, 91,456 residents have been infected in the region, which encompasses Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri, and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.
No other deaths were reported in other parts of the region. With the additional nine deaths, the virus has now killed 321 residents and infected 27,196 people in Johnson County — the highest number in both categories in the metro.
On Tuesday, the region reported 19 more deaths after Missouri officials conducted a weekly review of death certificates, leading to a spike in fatalities.
In the last seven days, the region has recorded more than 7,300 additional infections, bringing the weekly rolling average to 1,050 new infections a day, according to public health data kept by The Star.
A week ago, that average was 852. Two weeks ago, it was 1,151. The highest average yet came Nov. 22 at 1,199.
Across Missouri, 330,846 residents to date have been infected, including 4,383 who have died. In the last seven days, the state’s positive test rate was 19.1%.
In Kansas, the virus has infected 179,803 residents and killed 1,941. The state’s monthly positive test rate was 16.7%.
Nationwide, the virus has infected at least 15.3 million people and killed more than 287,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 4:37 PM.
