KC metro sees uptick in number of new COVID cases; more than 1,000 added Wednesday
After a dip in the number of new cases earlier this week, the Kansas City metropolitan area added more than 1,000 cases on Wednesday.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 1,031 cases for a total of 109,539 to date.
The seven-day average for new cases was 742. One week ago, it was 875 and two weeks ago it was 966.
Twenty additional deaths were also confirmed Wednesday. Two were in Kansas City, four were in Jackson County, 12 were in Johnson County, one was in Clay County and one was in Platte County.
December has been the deadliest month of the pandemic for the metro with 342 deaths. The tragic milestone comes just as the first wave of vaccinations continue to make their way across the region.
More than 66,000 people have received the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said. The state is in its first phase of administering the vaccine which includes health care workers as well as residents and staff at long-term care facilities.
The University of Kansas Health System reported 56 patients hospitalized for the virus, the same number as Tuesday. Of the 56, 27 were in the intensive care unit with 20 on ventilators.
On Wednesday, Kansas reported 222,433 cases including 2,741 deaths. There were 767 hospitalizations with 32% of ICU beds available. The monthly positive test rate was 12.5%.
Missouri confirmed 388,856 cases including 5,491 deaths. There were 2,540 hospitalizations with 27% of ICU beds remaining. The seven-day positive test rate was 17.1%.
Across the country, more than 19.5 million people have contracted the virus and 340,004 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 82 million cases have been reported worldwide.
