KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Kansas City metro area health officials are grappling with how to handle continuing case count increases after reopening businesses more than three months ago.
What you need to know:
- The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Monday the state has 103,553 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and there have been 1,181 deaths since the outbreak started. Kansas is now only updating COVID-19 data on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
- The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Monday that there have been 212,441 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak and 3,153 deaths.
MONDAY
2:50 p.m.
–On Monday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 3,244 new cases, bringing the number of total COVID-19 cases to 212,441 since the start of the outbreak.
No new deaths were reported Monday. There have now been 3,153 deaths across Missouri from COVID-19. The DHSS said that number is not always indicative of deaths that occurred in the past 24 hours. This is based on when information was received and/or entered in the system.
[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD]
Missouri does not list how many people have recovered from COVID-19.
The state said it has tested a total of 2,669,455, and 116,265 were tested in the past seven days. There have been 21,670 positive cases and 53 deaths in the last week.
Looking at local numbers, the DHSS reported 17,226 confirmed cases in Kansas City, Missouri, and 12,170 cases in Jackson County. The state also lists 3,220 total cases in Clay County, 2,533 in Cass County and 1,186 in Platte County.
1:30 p.m.
— The nation passed the sobering total of 10 million infections on Monday, and there have been more than 237,000 deaths from COVID-19. READ MORE
12:30 p.m.
— Kansas added a record-setting 5,920 new coronavirus cases Monday as hospitals strained under the pressure.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported an increase of 5,920 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in its first update since Friday, pushing the statewide total to 103,553 since the outbreak started.
KDHE officials said Monday the death total grew by 15 to 1,181 and hospitalizations increased by 71 to 4,138 since the outbreak started.
The average median age of the deaths is 80, which is steady from Fridays reporting.
Health officials said Monday that 38% of ICU beds are available and 80% of the states ventilators are available.
The state said it has tested 689,982 people with 586,429 negative test results with an overall monthly positive test rate of 20.1%.
[ KANSAS COVID-19 COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]
Johnson County continues to have the most confirmed cases in Kansas with 18,783. Sedgwick County is the county with the second most cases with 17,232. Wyandotte County is third with 9,282 cases.
Leavenworth County home to Lansing Correctional Facility has 2,913 cases, and Douglas County now reports 3,214. The Douglas County case count is largely tied to increases at the University of Kansas.
Health officials said the median age of people with COVID-19 is 38, and they are monitoring 297 active outbreak clusters with 108 clusters reported in long-term care facilities.
11:30 a.m.
— KMBC 9 News Investigative reporter Matt Flener reports that both the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services have received feedback from the CDC on the states vaccine distribution plans. Both states are working to finalize, and publish updated vaccine distribution plans this week, based on CDC feedback, Flener reports.
11:15 a.m.
—
The Better Business Bureau is warning people not to fall for fake coronavirus studies. According to the BBB, scammers are sending out text messages promoting fake clinical trials. The e-mails claim the study pays upwards of a thousand dollars. All you have to do is click on the link to take part. READ MORE
10:49 a.m.
—
Missouris largest county offered a dire warning to its 1 million residents on Monday: New restrictions will be necessary unless the coronavirus surge is brought under control.
St. Louis County already requires face coverings and has imposed other restrictions, but Democratic Executive Sam Page said at a news conference that with cases rising again and hospitals filling quickly, more drastic measures could be announced next week.
No one wants to shut down our economy and no one wants more restrictions, Page said. We understand how harmful that will be. But we cant stand by as this virus continues to rage in our community.
Missouri is among dozens of states seeing a big increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. After reaching new records in cases several times last week, culminating with a high of 4,559 on Saturday, the state health department reported better numbers Monday – 3,244 new cases and no new deaths.
Its too early to tell if that was a one-day blip or the start of a trend.
State data showed Missouris positivity rate at 19.5% – nearly four times the benchmark suggested by the World Health Organization. Missouri has now reported 212,441 confirmed cases and 3,153 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
On Sunday, Dr. Alex Garza of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force cited a frightening amount of virus in the St. Louis area, and he warned that hospitals are increasingly overwhelmed. Average daily hospitalizations and admissions have more than doubled over the past month at St. Louis-area hospitals.
There is really no safe harbor now, whether its rural, suburban or urban – were seeing admissions from all over, Garza said Sunday.
Page didnt specify what new restrictions were on the table. For now, he urged residents to avoid personal interactions when possible; wear a mask everywhere except at home; identify a group of 10 people or fewer to come into regular contact with; and to self-quarantine for two weeks after travel or attending a larger event.
We have one last chance to slow the cases of COVID-19 here in our community before we are forced to take action, Page said.
As evidence that some in the community still arent taking the necessary precautions, Page cited a Halloween party involving up to 200 high school students. At least five have already tested positive for the virus, he said.
St. Louis city also isnt ruling out new restrictions, said Jacob Long, spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson, also a Democrat. A new shutdown remains a possibility for the city if we dont see a dramatic change in personal behavior to gain stronger compliance in mask wearing and smaller personal gatherings, Long said in a statement.
Springfield, Missouris third-largest city, isnt currently weighing a new shutdown, spokeswoman Cora Scott said. Messages left with officials in Kansas City, Jackson County and Columbia were not immediately returned.
In the Kansas City metropolitan area, the seven-day average for new cases was 794 per day, the Kansas City Star reported. Two weeks ago, the seven-day average was 364.
10:30 a.m.
— Johnson County reported Monday morning 17,219 cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started, 3,480 cases in the last 14 days and 578 cases per 100,000 people in the county over the last 14 days.
The county said it has 12,347 presumed recoveries, 235 people have died, and 625 people have been hospitalized since the start of the outbreak.
Johnson County said it has tested 162,365 people with 145,146 tests coming back negative.
As of Monday, the school reopening gating criteria the 14-day rolling total used by the county to make recommendations on how schools should reopen remained in the red phase and the percent positivity moving average is at 13.8%.
The county said it is monitoring 36 outbreaks at senior living care facilities. It also said that 158 people from senior living care facilities have died, which is 67.2% of the deaths in Johnson County.
8 a.m.
— Wyandotte County is reporting Monday morning 8,846 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak started, with 41 patients currently hospitalized and 294 probable cases. The county said 166 people have died from the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak.
The countys COVID-19 report indicates which ZIP codes have the most recent cases. Over a 14-day period, the 66109 ZIP code had 117 cases, followed by 66106 with 113, 66102 with 112 and 66104 with 100.
Wyandotte County does not list hospital capacity numbers on its dashboard.
7:50 a.m.
–The Wichita mayor, City Council and several city staff members are in quarantine after a council member was recently diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple and City Manager Robert Layton are among those in isolation for 14 days after Council Member Brandon Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
Johnson told the Wichita Eagle that he had a cough Thursday that worsened Friday, so he went to be tested. He received the results Saturday morning.
KAKE-TV reports that City Council meetings will be held online until the council can meet in person, and City Hall will open on a limited basis over the coming days.
7:30 a.m.
— The state of Kansas isnt officially listing the number of people who have recovered from COVID-19, but local health departments across the state are keeping track.
According to numbers from Monday morning, there have been 69,028 people who have recovered from the coronavirus.
This includes 12,244 in Johnson County, 6,835 in Wyandotte County, 2,390 in Leavenworth County and 2,849 in Douglas County.
7 a.m.
— Local health departments in Missouri don’t have enough staffers to conduct contact training for all of the COVID-19 cases popping up, so they have been prioritizing the ones they try to trace back to their sources, officials said.
The coronavirus has been surging in many states in recent months, including Missouri, where the rate of positive tests over the past two weeks is more than double the national average, according to The COVID Tracking Project. READ MORE
6:30 a.m.
— Missouri recorded yet another record increase Saturday in COVID-19 cases, straining hospitals and raising the possibility of another stay-at-home order in the St. Louis area.
The 4,559 newly confirmed cases brought the pandemic total to 205,066 in Missouri. The state also added 19 deaths, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related fatalities to 3,150. And the state’s seven-day average of new cases reached 2,811 on Saturday. READ MORE
6 a.m.
— Since the pandemic began, weve heard were all in this together. But, coronavirus case data in Kansas City, and across the country, shows thats not true. COVID didnt break our systems, said Frank Thompson, with the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department. COVID exposed our broken systems. READ MORE
[ CLICK HERE FOR MAPS OF COVID-19 CASES BY COUNTY IN KANSAS & MISSOURI ][ TRACKING COVID-19 CURVE OF CASES, DEATHS IN KANSAS & MISSOURI ]
The Associated Press contributed to this story.read more
