KC metro adds less than 500 new COVID cases, but average for deaths hits record high
The Kansas City metropolitan area added fewer than 500 new COVID-19 cases, but the average for deaths hit a new high Tuesday.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 494 coronavirus cases for a total of 130,070 to date.
Twenty-six deaths were reported with nine in Kansas City, six in Jackson County, two in Clay County, eight in Johnson County and one in Wyandotte County.
That drove the seven-day average for daily deaths to a record 17. The previous high was 15, set on Jan. 11.
The spike in deaths was in part due to Missouri’s weekly review of death certificates.
The metro has recorded a total of 1,676 deaths from the pandemic.
The seven-day average for daily new cases sits at 589. One week ago, the average was 622 and two weeks ago, it was 1,032, according to data maintained by The Star.
The University of Kansas Health System reported 63 patients hospitalized for the virus, up by five from Monday. Sixteen patients are in the intensive care unit with 11 on ventilators.
On Tuesday, Missouri confirmed 451,493 cases including 6,686 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 10.7%.
The state has received 665,300 doses of the vaccine and given 340,273 shots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kansas reported 269,255 cases including 3,622 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 9.5%.
The state has received 348,175 doses of the vaccine and administered 158,743 shots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported administering 157,520 doses. Numbers vary, health officials have said, due to a lag in reporting.
Across the country, more than 25.3 million people have contracted the virus and 423,653 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 100 million cases have been identified globally, as of Tuesday.
