Rolling average for new COVID-19 cases in KC metro rises as area adds 7 deaths

Katie Moore
·2 min read

Editor’s note: As the The Kansas City Star continues to cover the coronavirus pandemic, updates on case counts and vaccination statistics in the metropolitan area will be published on a weekly basis rather than daily.

After a drop in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the Kansas City metropolitan area, the rolling average is again on the rise.

On Tuesday, the area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas gained 187 new cases for a total of 147,723 cases to date.

The rolling average for new cases increased from 117 on Monday to 128 on Tuesday, according to data tracked by The Star. One week ago, it sat at 115 and two weeks ago, it was 159.

On vaccinations, Johnson County leads the metro with 44.9% of its residents fully vaccinated. It’s followed by Platte County at 33.1%, Jackson County at 32%, Clay County at 30.9% and Wyandotte County at 28.2%, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The metro added seven deaths on Tuesday, raising the total to 2,187. The area is averaging four virus deaths every day.

Nine patients were being treated for COVID-19 at The University of Kansas Health System, the same number as Monday. Three were in the intensive care unit with one on a ventilator.

On Tuesday, Missouri reported 507,939 total cases including 8,990 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 3.7%.

The state has administered 4,333,614 vaccine doses, with 39.8% of the population initiating vaccination. Missouri has received 5,674,925 doses, according to the CDC.

Kansas identified 312,073 total cases including 5,040 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 2.9%.

The state has distributed 2,708,660 vaccine doses. Of those, 2,082,658 have been administered, with 40.2% of the population initiating vaccination.

Across the country, more than 32.9 million people have contracted COVID-19 and 586,802 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.