2 more children in Kansas have died from COVID-19

Bill Lukitsch
·1 min read

Two more Kansas minors, including one child nine years old or younger, are among those recently reported dead of COVID-19 by the state’s public health agency.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which tracks coronavirus cases statewide, has updated its data to show one child nine years old or younger and another within the 10-17 age range were recently determined to have died because of complications related to the virus.

It was not immediately clear where or when those deaths occurred. The Star reported in November that there had been six deaths within that age range at the time.

A spokesman for the health agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The COVID-19 death toll in Kansas now stands at 7,336, according to state health data. Eight of those reported deaths are minors under 18 years old. The largest share of fatalities falls in the category of 85 years and older, with 2,232.

News of the deaths comes as cases remain high in the state and the Kansas City area following the latest COVID-19 wave.

In the Kansas City metropolitan area, the seven-day average number of cases is 2,633, representing a slight decline compared to last week, according to data maintained by The Star. The metro area includes Jackson, Platte, Clay counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.

The Star’s Natalie Wallington contributed to this report.

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. (NIAID-RML via AP)
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. (NIAID-RML via AP)