Kansas City metro surpasses a quarter million COVID cases with omicron and delta

Natalie Wallington
·2 min read

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the Kansas City metro area has reached a record high of over 2,100 per day, according to data recorded by The Star. The metro has also officially surpassed a quarter of a million total cases since the pandemic began.

Local officials have reported 14,839 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, bringing the total number of cases in Kansas City up to 252,126 since the pandemic began.

Forty people have died from COVID-19 in Kansas City in the past week, bringing the death total up to 3,429 since the pandemic began. That’s a little lower than the death toll of 48 recorded last week.

As of Tuesday, the rolling average of new COVID-19 cases across the metro area is around 2,120 per day over seven days, according to data tracked by The Star. That’s more than double last week’s average of 940, and the highest seven-day average The Star has ever recorded.

What do these numbers mean for hospitals?

The University of Kansas Health System is treating 80 patients with active COVID-19 infections as of Tuesday, Jan. 4. Nineteen of these patients are in the ICU, with 15 on ventilators. That’s higher than last week’s count of 58 active cases.

Doctors note that while early data suggests that the omicron variant may cause less severe illness than previous strains, its extremely high contagion rate may result in hospitalizations continuing to rise.

“If something is far more contagious and easily transmitted from person to person, then the number of people infected goes up [and] the number of hospitalizations goes up, even if the relative percentage of those needing hospitalization goes down,” said Dr. Angela Myers, the Infectious Diseases Division Director at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Overland Park.

Of the 80 patients that the University of Kansas Health System is currently treating for COVID-19, only six are fully vaccinated. Getting a full course of vaccines and a booster shot remain the most effective way to stay safe from the virus.

Vaccinations and booster shots are available for free at clinics around the Kansas City area.

Do you have more questions about staying safe from COVID-19 in Kansas City? Ask our Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com or fill out the form below.