Kansas City COVID-19 deaths more than doubled in the past week, data shows
COVID-19 cases and deaths rose significantly in the past week in the Kansas City area. In the last seven days, 44 people died from COVID-19 in the metro. That’s more than double the previous week’s death toll of 19.
The University of Kansas Health System is treating 39 patients with active COVID-19 infections as of Tuesday morning. Twelve of these patients are in the ICU, with eight on ventilators. Nineteen more patients are recovering from COVID-19. That’s almost equivalent to last week’s count of 38 active cases.
As of Tuesday, the rolling average of new COVID-19 cases across the metro area is around 748 per day over seven days, according to data tracked by The Star. That’s higher than last week’s average of 732 and each of the five weeks prior. Forty-four people have died from COVID-19 around Kansas City in the past week, bringing the death total up to 3,301 since the pandemic began.
5,235 new COVID-19 infections have been reported by local county officials in the past week, bringing the total number of cases in Kansas City up to 224,802 since the pandemic began.
Of the 39 patients that the University of Kansas Health System is currently treating for COVID-19, only one person is vaccinated.
What can you do about the rise in COVID-19 cases?
Getting a full course of vaccines and a booster shot remain the most effective way to stay safe from the virus. Doctors urged the public not to wait until hypothetical new vaccines are developed to fight new variants.
“Go ahead and get what’s available,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Kansas Health System. “We know vaccination works, so there’s still time to go and do that.”
Vaccinations and booster shots are available for free at clinics around the Kansas City area.
What else are local doctors talking about this week?
Guest experts at the University of Kansas’ morning medical update on Dec. 14 discussed COVID-19 infection in animals, which they believe may be caused by the virus’s ability to survive outside the body on some surfaces.
“The virus hates summer… so [it survives] only a day or so, depending on the surface. But the virus loves winter,” said Dr. Jürgen Richt, director of the Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases at Kansas State University. “In many of our surfaces— plastic, metal, wood, whatever— the virus survives three weeks, so a long time.”
While the virus’s long-term hardiness outside the body can contribute to human infection in some settings, experts added that airborne transmission in enclosed spaces is much more common.
“What we have seen from humans is that fomite transmission, so inanimate object transmission, is very low to minimal,” Hawkinson said. “More risky are those indoor, at-risk places where you are gathered close together.”
Do you have more questions about staying safe from COVID-19 in Kansas City? Ask our Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com or fill out the form below.
.jpg)