Kansas City metro adds 160 new COVID-19 cases and eight deaths on Tuesday

The Kansas City metropolitan area added 160 new COVID-19 cases and eight deaths on Tuesday.

The area encompassing Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas has recorded a total of 144,012 cases.

The seven-day rolling average for new cases rose to 122, according to data maintained by The Star. One week ago, the average was 104 and two weeks ago, it was 95.

Steve Stites, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, said the metro’s numbers are starting to go up.

“Something we have to keep an eye on,” he said.

The spike in deaths was in part caused by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Service’s weekly review of death certificates, which added 46 deaths statewide. Locally, Kansas City added four deaths, Jackson County gained three and Platte County added one.

Thirteen patients were hospitalized for the virus at The University of Kansas Health System, up from eight on Monday. Seven were in the intensive care unit with three on ventilators.

On Tuesday, Missouri confirmed 497,134 cases including 8,684 deaths. The seven-day positive test rate was 4.9%.

The state has administered 3,453,784 doses of the vaccine, with 34.5% of the population initiating vaccination. The state has received 4,715,505 doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kansas reported 306,290 total cases including 4,955 deaths. The monthly positive test rate was 2.9%.

The state has distributed 2,208,400 doses of the vaccine. Of those, 1,720,591 have been administered, with 36.4% of the population initiating vaccination.

Across the country, more than 31.7 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 568,104 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.