Kansas City metro adds over 250 COVID-19 cases as average for new cases holds steady
The Kansas City metropolitan area added more than 250 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and 28 deaths.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson County and Wyandotte counties in Kansas added 267 cases for a total of 137,964 cases to date.
The seven-day average for new cases held steady at 206, according to data maintained by The Star. One week ago, the average was 203 and two weeks ago, it was 295.
A spike in deaths was partially attributable to Missouri’s weekly review of death certificates which added 175 deaths statewide. Kansas City added 17 deaths and Jackson County added seven.
On the Kansas side, Johnson and Wyandotte counties each added two deaths.
The metro has recorded a total of 1,975 COVID-19 deaths since March 12, when the area’s first virus death was announced.
The University of Kansas Health System reported 33 patients hospitalized for the virus, down from 36 on Monday. Eleven patients were in the intensive care unit with six on ventilators.
On Tuesday, Missouri confirmed 475,791 cases including 7,885 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 6.4%.
The state has administered 1,046,575 vaccine doses, covering 11.5% of the population, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said. The state has received 1,315,095 doses with 1,110,913 administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Numbers vary due to a lag in reporting, health officials have said.
Kansas reported 291,715 cases including 4,643 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 5.1%, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The state has distributed 600,700 vaccine doses and 483,205 have been administered, covering 11.6% of the population.
Across the U.S., 28.2 million people have contracted the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University. The country surpassed a half million deaths Monday afternoon. As of Tuesday, the death toll was 501,315 people.
