New COVID cases in the KC area decline by 25%, but deaths increase
New COVID-19 cases in the Kansas City metropolitan area have decreased by 25% over the past two weeks.
But the rate of deaths has climbed, reaching a daily average of 10.
On Friday, the area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 657 new cases for a total of 186,442 to date.
The seven-day rolling average for daily cases sits at 470, according to data tracked by The Star. One week ago, the average was 572. Two weeks ago, it was 628.
Over the past week, the metro added 3,287 more cases. Last week, the area gained 4,005 new cases and the week before, 4,393 were recorded.
While new cases have declined, deaths have increased. In the past seven days, 73 more deaths were recorded in the metro, raising the total to 2,654 since the pandemic began. The week before, 59 deaths were added.
The seven-day average for deaths in June and July ranged from one to three daily deaths. But that figure began increasing in August and now sits at 10, the highest average since Feb. 24.
Forty-six patients were hospitalized for COVID-19 at The University of Kansas Health System, down from 50 on Thursday. Of those, 18 were in the intensive care unit.
“Overall, we have seen a slight decrease in our number of hospitalizations,” said Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control.
He urged people to get vaccinated.
“If we can do things to help protect, not only ourselves individually, but our community and maybe other loved ones or friends, that is what we need to be doing,” he said. “The vaccination, from a medical standpoint, is extremely safe and is extremely effective at keeping people well.”
On Friday, Kansas confirmed 387,152 total cases including 5,766 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 9.2%. Across the state, 44.8% of the population has been fully vaccinated.
Missouri has had an 11.5% decrease in positive cases in the past two weeks. The state reported 647,335 total cases including 10,861 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 11.3%. Forty-six percent of Missouri’s residents are fully inoculated.
Across the country, more than 40.6 million people have contracted COVID-19 and 655,512 have died, Johns Hopkins University said.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 2:22 PM.
