KC metro adds record 36 COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, raising total to more than 1,250
The Kansas City metropolitan area added a record 36 deaths on Tuesday.
The spike in deaths is in part attributed to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Service’s weekly review of death certificates.
Kansas City and Jackson County reported 10 deaths each, Clay County added four and Platte County reported one.
Johnson County on the Kansas side reported 11 new deaths, raising the metro area’s total to 1,257. The first COVID-19 death across the metro was reported March 12 in Wyandotte County.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 686 cases for a total of 103,227 to date.
The seven-day rolling average for new cases was 850. One week ago, it was 974 and two weeks ago, it was 1,014.
The University of Kansas Health System had 76 patients hospitalized for the virus, down from 79 on Monday. Of the 28 patients in the ICU, 20 were relying on a ventilator, according to Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control.
On Tuesday, Missouri confirmed 370,439 cases including 5,158 deaths. There were 2,703 hospitalizations with 23% of ICU beds remaining. The seven-day positive test rate was 17.1%.
Kansas reported 204,600 cases including 2,448 deaths. There were 630 hospitalizations with 39% of ICU beds available. The monthly positive test rate was 13.8%.
Across the country, more than 18.1 million people have contracted the virus and 321,301 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
