COVID case rates keep falling in Kansas City area as patient numbers slowly decline
The downward trend in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continues in the Kansas City area. Experts say that slowly declining cases and patient numbers are part of a promising trend.
As of Tuesday, March 1, the rolling average of new COVID-19 cases across the metro area is around 170 per day over seven days, according to data tracked by The Star. That’s lower than last week’s average of 231, which included the reporting lag over Presidents’ Day weekend. The previous week saw 843 new cases, and numbers were regularly in the thousands before that.
There have been approximately 16.3 deaths per day in the last week, which is a lot more than 4.4 per day the previous week. However, this week’s death count includes numbers from two state of Missouri audits that added a total of 630 previously uncounted COVID-19 deaths to the state’s totals. Last week’s numbers did not include any such audits.
Local officials have reported 1,187 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, bringing the total number of cases in the Kansas City metro area up to 354,311 since the pandemic began. That’s lower than the 1,618 cases recorded last week, which was lower than 5,903 the week before.
More deaths were reported this week than past weeks because of those Missouri audits we mentioned, culminating in 114 new deaths this past week. That brings the local death total up to 4,104 since the pandemic began. Thirty-one deaths were recorded the previous week.
How are local hospitals holding up?
The University of Kansas Health System is treating 45 patients with active COVID-19 infections as of Tuesday, Feb. 22. Two of these patients are in the ICU, and both of them are on ventilators. That’s a little higher than the 40 active cases the hospital was treating at this time last week. However, experts don’t see the slight rise as a cause for concern.
“We are steady, really, in those mid-40’s for active cases,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease expert at The University of Kansas Health System, in a news briefing on Tuesday, March 1. “I think we are still seeing that downward trend overall, and that is a great thing.”
Recent data from the Mid-America Regional Council, or MARC, shows hospitalization rates declining in the Kansas City area over the last several weeks. This trend offers some welcome relief to local hospitals, which struggled to meet patient needs amid staffing and supply shortages during the most recent pandemic wave.
How vaccinated is the Kansas City area?
Vaccination rates in the area are rising slowly, with 60.56% percent of the population fully vaccinated in the Kansas City region. Eastern Kansas has a higher vaccination rate, at 68.25%, than western Missouri does at 54.82%.
Getting vaccinated is still the most effective way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, and experts recommend using increased caution if you are not yet vaccinated. Here’s how vaccinated different parts of Kansas City are, and here’s where to get a free vaccine or booster shot in the area.
Do you have more questions about staying safe from COVID-19 in Kansas City? Ask our Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
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