COVID cases continue to fall as Kansas and Missouri report data less frequently
COVID-19 cases appear to still be declining in the Kansas City area.
New data reporting that deemphasizes daily case numbers and death totals by county will now cause changes to the way The Star provides COVID-19 updates. This is because both Kansas and Missouri are treating COVID-19 as “endemic” now. Here’s what that means for you.
We will report new weekly case totals on Fridays. Death totals are no longer sorted by county in Missouri.
The Star defines the Kansas City metro area as encompassing the cities of Kansas City and Independence, the counties of Jackson, Clay and Platte in Missouri, and the counties of Johnson and Wyandotte in Kansas.
How are local COVID-19 numbers looking?
Officials reported a total of 496 new cases in the Kansas City area over the past week. That’s higher than last Tuesday’s total of 398 new cases, although it encompasses a longer reporting period due to the shift in data reporting.
The past week saw an average of 71 cases per day in the metro area, while the most recent previous average was 75 cases per day over seven days.
The state of Missouri reported zero new COVID deaths since Sunday, April 3. Johnson County reported two deaths in the last week, while Wyandotte County reported eight. That’s a total of 10 new deaths in the area, bringing the total up to 4,272.
The Star can no longer report on non-zero numbers of Missouri COVID-19 deaths, because they are no longer being classified by county.
How are hospitals holding up?
The University of Kansas Health System is currently treating nine patients with active COVID-19 infections. It was treating fourteen as of Tuesday, March 29. Only one of these patients is in the ICU, and is on a ventilator.
The hospital announced that it will soon stop giving COVID tests to all incoming patients and instead test only those who think they are infected or are symptomatic. This change may impact the daily health system COVID numbers moving forward.
How vaccinated is the Kansas City area?
Vaccination rates in the area are rising slowly, with 61.18% of the population fully vaccinated in the Kansas City region. Eastern Kansas has a higher vaccination rate, at 68.94%, than western Missouri does at 55.40%.
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.
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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