Kansas City metro’s rolling average for new COVID-19 cases climbs above 150
The Kansas City metropolitan area added 225 new COVID-19 cases, bumping the rolling average for new daily cases above 150.
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 145,368 cases to date.
The seven-day rolling average for new cases increased to 153, according to data tracked by The Star. The average has not been this high since March 1. One week ago, the average sat at 126 and two weeks ago, it was 105.
“The seven-day rolling averages have continued to increase. We’ve seen about a 25% increase in the average number of new cases per day over last two weeks, so not an insignificant change,” said David Wild, vice president of quality and safety at The University of Kansas Health System.
Thirteen people were being treated for the virus at the health system, up from 11 on Wednesday. Six were in the intensive care unit with three on ventilators.
Two deaths were reported Thursday in Johnson County, raising the metro’s total to 2,136.
On Thursday, Missouri reported 501,106 total cases including 8,738 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 4.7%.
The state has administered 3,845,710 doses of the vaccine, with 37.3% of the population initiating vaccination. Missouri has received 5,178,665 doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kansas has identified 308,510 total cases including 4,978 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 3.1%.
The state has distributed 2,511,820 doses of the vaccine. Of those, 1,872,482 have been administered, with 38.1% of the population initiating vaccination.
Across the country, more than 32.2 million people have contracted COVID-19 and 574,767 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
