Kansas City metro adds fewer than 100 COVID-19 cases as rolling average sees drop
The Kansas City metropolitan area added less than 100 new COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths on Tuesday.
The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 94 COVID-19 cases for a total of 141,156.
The seven-day rolling average for new cases dropped to 99. One week ago, the average was 125 and two weeks ago, it was 101, according to data maintained by The Star.
The spike in deaths was in part due to Missouri’s weekly review of death certificates which added 53 COVID-19 deaths statewide. Nine of those were in the metro. Wyandotte County on the Kansas side recorded two new deaths.
The metro has recorded a total of 2,077 deaths.
The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 at The University of Kansas Health System held steady at nine. Five were in the intensive care unit with two on ventilators.
David Wild, vice president of performance improvement, said he remains concerned about the spread of the virus.
“We’re definitely concerned that any event that leads to increased transmission, whether it be because of travel and gathering for Spring Break, or anything that happens here or really anywhere related to a change in the way we are gathering and interacting, especially for those that are vaccinated in our community,” Wild said.
On Tuesday, Missouri confirmed 486,525 cases including 8,429 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 4%.
The state has administered 2,099,298 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 22.5% of the population initiating vaccination. Missouri has received 2,872,965 doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kansas reported 299,510 cases including 4,842 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 2.8%.
The state has distributed 1,352,330 doses of the vaccine and administered 1,018,146 shots, with 23.2% of the population initiating vaccination.
Across the country, more than 29.8 million people have contracted the virus and 543,375 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
