Missouri reports 2,213 new coronavirus cases; KCMO adds 394

Kansas City metro area health officials are grappling with how to handle continuing case count increases after reopening businesses more than four months ago. What you need to know:The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Monday the state has 204,600 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and there have been 2,448 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 Tuesday there have been 370,439 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak and 5,158 deaths.TUESDAY3 p.m. — St. Louis-area hospitals continue to be stretched thin while battling the coronavirus pandemic, local health officials announced Tuesday. Bed capacity at hospitals in the St. Louis area is at about 82%, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. Intensive care units are at 90% capacity. Cases continue to rise in the St. Louis area, and at least another 16 St. Louis County police officers tested positive for the virus in the past week. According to the department, there have been at least 145 confirmed cases at the agency so far this year. Statewide, 17,778 new confirmed cases have been reported in the past week, according to state health department data. That’s about 2,540 new cases a day on average. State health officials on Tuesday urged Missourians, including healthy people, to get tested for the virus. The agency asked those without symptoms to consider getting tested to help stop the virus’ spread through asymptomatic carriers and to prevent unknowingly sickening friends and loved ones over the holidays. The University of Missouri-Columbia on Tuesday also announced most students living on campus must be tested for the virus before moving back after the winter break. Students who recently tested positive won’t need to be retested.2:30 p.m. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Tuesday afternoon that more than 23,000 vaccines have been administered to frontline health care workers and nursing home residents and staff according to Phase 1A of Missouri’s Vaccination Plan. Parson said there are over 450,000 Missourians included in Phase 1A, which will take several weeks to complete. State and local governments and health care partners are administering vaccines to those recipients as efficiently as possible. Currently, 285 facilities across the state are approved to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to Phase 1A eligible recipients within their facility. More than 700 additional facilities are expected to be approved within the coming days and weeks. Vaccinators have been approved in all geographic regions of Missouri, and Parson said “more will continue to be brought onboard to ensure vaccines are distributed equitably and efficiently.””The announcement of a second vaccine that is proven to be safe and effective in preventing COVID-19 is great news for the people of Missouri. The approval of an additional vaccine will help us move through the phases of our vaccination plan and offer more vaccines to Missourians, ” Parson said. “While we continue to receive positive news in our fight against COVID-19, I remind Missourians that the virus is still here, and we all must take the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of this virus, especially through the holiday season.”12:30 p.m. — After initially being left off the COVID-19 vaccine distribution list, the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center received its initial shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday morning.11:45 a.m. – Dr. William Pankey, Vibrant Health Medical Director, becomes the organization’s first COVID-19 vaccine recipient.11 a.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 2,123 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 370,439 since the pandemic began.There have now been 5,158 deaths linked to COVID-19 in Missouri, which is up 205 from Monday’s reporting. The MSHSS said Monday night that 140 new deaths were discovered after an analysis of death certificates and those numbers were reflected in Tuesday’s totals.[ 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 3,496,171, and 111,858 were tested in the past seven days. There have been 17,778 positive cases and an average of 2,540 cases a day in the last week.Looking at local numbers, the DHSS reported 28,400 (+394) confirmed cases in Kansas City, Missouri, and 21,519 (+357) cases in Jackson County. The state also lists 5,837 (+118) cases in Clay County, 5,008 (+130) in Cass County and 2,128 (+55) in Platte County.9 a.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said late Monday night that it has discovered an additional 140 COVID-19 associated deaths that will be reflected in the state’s disease surveillance system on Tuesday.“This weekly activity has been occurring for several…

Read More:Missouri reports 2,213 new coronavirus cases; KCMO adds 394