COVID-19 numbers dropping in KC metro, but virus is still here, health officials warn
The Kansas City metropolitan area added 130 new COVID-19 cases and saw another drop in hospitalizations at a local health system.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas has recorded a total of 138,805 cases to date.
The number of new cases reflects positive tests from the weekend in Johnson County, which stopped updating its figures on a daily basis.
The seven-day average for new cases in the metro was 158. One week ago, it sat at 206 and two weeks ago, it was 210, according to data maintained by The Star.
One death, in Johnson County, was reported Monday, raising the area’s total to 1,989.
The University of Kansas Health System said 16 patients were hospitalized for the virus, down from 23 on Friday. Five patients were in the intensive care unit with two on ventilators.
“It has been since July or August since we were at that level,” said chief medical officer Steve Stites. “Doesn’t that feel good.”
He attributed the decline in numbers to behaviors such as social distancing and masking, and said evidence of those measures was apparent in a low number of flu cases.
“We still have to take COVID-19 seriously, it’s still out there,” Stites said. “I think we’re still concerned about the next possible surge that could occur in April and May as people get back out, they get together again, the bars and restaurants are clearly opening more and we see people coming together in different venues — I know there are concerts starting to be planned.”
On Monday, Kansas confirmed 294,302 cases including 4,743 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 4.6%.
The state has distributed 805,480 doses of the vaccine with 584,468 administered, covering 13.5% of the population, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said.
Missouri reported 478,416 including 7,919 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 4.8%.
The state has administered 1,287,676 vaccine doses, covering 13.8% of the population, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. A total of 1,694,635 doses have been delivered to the state with 1,375,027 administered, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Numbers vary due to a lag in reporting, health officials have said.
Across the country, more than 28.6 million people have contracted the virus and 513,905 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published March 1, 2021 at 3:24 PM.
