Good news for KC metro, as 7-day average of COVID cases drops in half from December
The Kansas City metropolitan area added nearly 500 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths on Friday.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 499 coronavirus cases for a total of 127,803 to date.
The seven-day average for new cases dropped to 552. One week ago, the average was 853 and two weeks ago, it was 880. Friday marked the tenth consecutive day that the average had been on the decline, according to data maintained by The Star.
Two deaths were reported in Kansas City while Jackson County, Platte County, Johnson County and Wyandotte County each added one, raising the metro’s total to 1,633.
The University of Kansas Health System said its hospital was treating 60 patients for the virus, up two from Thursday. Twenty patients were in the intensive care unit with 11 on ventilators.
“Things remain pretty stable overall,” said Nathan Bahr, an infectious disease specialist at the health system.
In Wyandotte County, teachers, police, grocery store workers and some other essential workers became eligible for the vaccine Friday. Seniors age 65 and older, who are also in Phase 2, are not yet eligible because of limited supplies, the local health department said.
Johnson County will begin administering the vaccine to residents age 65 and older Tuesday.
Missouri began vaccinating those age 65 and older and people with certain health conditions on Jan. 18. The state plans on establishing nine mass vaccine sites with assistance from the Missouri National Guard.
On Friday, Kansas confirmed 266,653 cases including 3,598 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 9.8%.
The state has received 336,475 doses of the vaccine and administered 127,094 shots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported administering 143,856 doses. Numbers vary, health officials have said, due to a lag in reporting.
Missouri reported 445,621 cases including 6,527 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 11.7%.
A total of 657,700 doses have been distributed with 285,697 administered in Missouri, the CDC said.
Across the country, more than 24.7 million people have contracted the virus and 412,936 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 5:23 PM.
