Average for new COVID-19 cases in Kansas City metro falls for 12th straight day
The average for new COVID-19 cases in the Kansas City metropolitan area dropped for the 12th consecutive day, but 10 deaths were added Wednesday.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 253 coronavirus cases for a total of 135,473 to date.
The seven-day average for new cases fell to 283. One week ago, the average sat at 427 and two weeks ago, it was 559, according to data maintained by The Star.
Kansas City added four deaths, Platte County added one, Johnson County added two and Wyandotte County added three. The metro has recorded 1,804 deaths since the pandemic began.
The University of Kansas Health System reported 30 patients being treated for the virus, up one from Tuesday. Nine patients are in the intensive care unit with five on ventilators.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that wearing two masks as well as knotting the ear loops reduced a healthy person’s risk of contracting the coronavirus by more than 95%.
Kansas City Health Department director Rex Archer has advocated for double masking.
On Wednesday, Kansas confirmed 284,894 cases and 4,303 deaths to date. The monthly positive test was 5.7%.
The state has distributed 552,775 doses and 331,022 have been administered, which covers 8.5% of the population, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Missouri reported 468,189 cases including 7,161 deaths since the pandemic began. The seven-day positive test rate was 7.7%.
A total of 741,108 vaccine doses have been administered, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The CDC reported 669,658 shots had been given with 1,021,500 doses delivered. Numbers vary due to a lag in reporting, health officials have said.
Across the country, more than 27.2 million people have contracted the virus and 469,833 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 2:53 PM.
