Kansas City metro adds over 700 COVID cases, 5 deaths as counties loosen restrictions
The Kansas City metropolitan area recorded more than 700 new cases and five additional deaths of COVID-19 on Saturday.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas added 733 new cases, for a total of 124,669 since the pandemic began.
The seven-day average for new cases decreased to 773. One week ago, it was 949 and two weeks ago it was 859.
Kansas City, which now has 33,556 cases, added 159 on Saturday. The city also recorded two new deaths for a total of 382.
Jackson County added 160 cases for 26,508 to date. One more person died in the county, which now totals 283 deaths.
Clay and Platte counties did not record any new deaths and stand at 118 and 27 COVID-19 deaths, respectively.
Clay County added 62 new cases for a total of 16,062, while Platte County added 41 cases for a total of 2,771.
On the Kansas side, Johnson County added 298 cases, for a total of 38,707, and three additional deaths. There have been 530 COVID-19 deaths in the county.
Wyandotte County has recorded 209 deaths total. No deaths were added Saturday. The county recorded another 62 cases and now sits at 16,062 total.
This week, Kansas City and Jackson, Clay, Wyandotte and Platte counties relaxed some COVID-19 restrictions, allowing restaurants and bars to stay open until midnight. Previously, restaurants and bars had to close by 10 p.m. Johnson County has allowed the midnight closing time since November.
Kansas has received 263,175 doses of the vaccine and administered 97,779 doses, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control.
As of Friday, Kansas recorded 256,134 cases and 3,502 deaths of COVID-19, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The monthly positive rate was 11.2%.
Missouri has received 528,000 doses and administered 190,447 of them, according to the CDC.
Missouri totals 436,199 cases and 6,253 deaths, according to the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services. The seven-day positive test rate was 14.4%.
Across the country, more than 23.6 million people have been infected and more than 393,900 people have died of COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.
