Public urged to listen to science as KC metro adds 960 new COVID-19 cases, 34 deaths
The Kansas City metropolitan area added more than 950 new COVID-19 cases and recorded 34 more deaths.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 960 coronavirus cases for a total of 121,591 to date.
The seven-day average for daily new cases rose to 1,032. One week ago, the average was 837 and two weeks ago it was 754, according to data maintained by The Star.
Deaths were reported in every jurisdiction of the metro with six in Kansas City, 15 in Jackson County, four in Clay County, one in Platte County, seven in Johnson County and one in Wyandotte County.
The spike in deaths is in part due to Missouri’s weekly review of death certificates. It linked 176 deaths across the state to COVID-19.
The metro has recorded a total of 1,515 deaths since the pandemic began.
The University of Kansas Health System reported 64 patients being treated for the virus, down two from Monday. Twenty-three patients were in the intensive care unit with 13 on ventilators.
Chief medical officer Steve Stites urged the public to listen to the science.
“Faith helps keep us strong, hope gets us through to tomorrow, science gets us back to the way we want to be,” Stites said. “Those rules of infection control that we talk about all the time — keeping your distance, wearing a mask, don’t go out in public if you’re sick, cough into your elbow, wash your hands — those rules of infection control, they travel with you wherever you go and they keep you safe.”
Officials in Wyandotte County on Tuesday relaxed some of the restrictions previously placed on bars and restaurants, allowing them to serve customers until midnight and remain open until 12:30 a.m.
The move came as Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is expected to announce the next phase of his city’s coronavirus response rules in a news conference at noon Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Missouri confirmed 427,117 cases including 6,155 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 17.6%.
Missouri has received 420,000 vaccine doses with 150,070 administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fifty-eight percent of Missourians are very or somewhat likely to get the vaccine when it is available, the Missouri Hospital Association said. People in Kansas City and St. Louis had the lowest trust that the vaccine will be distributed fairly, the association’s poll found.
Kansas reported 247,502 cases including 3,255 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 12.7%.
The state has received 192,200 doses of the vaccine with 77,217 administered, the CDC said.
Across the country, more than 22.7 million people have contracted the virus and 378,849 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 3:12 PM.
