Missouri reports 890 new cases; positivity rate climbs to 7.4%

Here are the latest COVID-19 updates around the Kansas City metro area, and in Kansas and Missouri.What you need to know:The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday the state has 317,017 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and there have been 5,139 deaths since the outbreak started. Overall, the state said 43.7% of the population has been vaccinated with at least one dose and 38% have completed vaccination. Kansas only updates its case totals on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said Friday there have been 521,902 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak and 9,254 deaths. Overall, the state said 43.9% of the population has received at least one dose and 38.4% have completed vaccination.FRIDAY9 a.m. — A highly contagious coronavirus variant that is contributing to a surge of cases in Missouri first gained a foothold in rural areas of the state where vaccinations rates are low, a pattern not seen previously, state health officials say.The delta variant, first detected in India, is becoming the predominant strain detected in wastewater in some parts of the state, particularly in the southwest corner, where COVID-19 hospitalizations are on the rise. And it is spreading much differently than the alpha variant, which first was detected in the United Kingdom, said Jeff Wenzel, who oversees the wastewater surveillance program for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. READ MORE8:30 a.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced the state’s total of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 521,254 on Friday, which is an increase of 648 cases. The state also reported there have been 92,506 (+242 possible antigen cases to date.The state reported there have been 3,330 positive cases over the last seven days and an average of 476 cases a day.The state said there have now been 9,254 (+3) deaths since the start of the outbreak.The overall seven-day positivity rate for the state climbed to 7.4%, according to the MDHSS. While that number has climbed more than two percentage points this month, the number is still down from a high of 23.1% in November.The state said it has administered 4,887,750 vaccine doses, 2,696,514 people have initiated vaccination (or received one dose) and 2,355,515 people have received a second dose. Overall, the state said 43.8% of the population has received at least one dose and 38.2% have completed vaccination.An estimated 42.3% of Kansas City residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while Jackson County is at 40.5%, Clay County is at 34.2%, Cass County is at 34.5% and Platte County is at 29.6%.[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD]Missouri does not list how many people have recovered from COVID-19.Looking at local numbers, the DHSS reported 39,999 confirmed cases in Kansas City, Missouri, and 32,706 cases in Jackson County. The state also lists 8,550 cases in Clay County, 7,897 in Cass County and 3,368 in Platte County.8 a.m. — Doctors with the University of Kansas Health System said there are currently nine patients at the University of Kansas Hospital receiving treatment for active coronavirus infections. Of those nine, two are in the ICU and one is on a ventilator. Nine other patients are recovering.[ HOW TO GET THE VACCINE, TRACKING NUMBERS IN KANSAS, MISSOURI ]THURSDAY8:30 a.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced the state’s total of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 521,254 on Thursday, which is an increase of 904 cases. The state also reported there have been 92,506 (+328) possible antigen cases to date.The numbers are the highest daily count since Feb. 11 and the first 1,000-plus new case report since March 24. The state reported there have been 3,142 positive cases over the last seven days and an average of 449 cases a day, which is the highest since Feb. 28.The state said there have now been 9,251 (+1) deaths since the start of the outbreak.The overall seven-day positivity rate for the state climbed to 7%, according to the MDHSS. While that number has climbed more than two percentage points this month, the number is still down from a high of 23.1% in November.The state said it has administered 4,873,283 vaccine doses, 2,689,993 people have initiated vaccination (or received one dose) and 2,346,783 people have received a second dose. Overall, the state said 43.8% of the population has received at least one dose and 38.2% have completed vaccination.An estimated 42.2% of Kansas City residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while Jackson County is at 40.4%, Clay County is at 34.1%, Cass County is at 34.4% and Platte County is at 29.5%.[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD]Missouri does not list how many people have recovered from COVID-19.Looking at local numbers, the DHSS reported 39,968 confirmed cases in Kansas City, Missouri, and 32,689 cases in Jackson County. The state also lists 8,544 cases in Clay County, 7,891 in Cass County and 3,366 in Platte County. 8 a.m. — Doctors with the University of Kansas Health System said there are currently 12 patients at the University of Kansas Hospital receiving treatment for active coronavirus infections. Of those 12, two are in the ICU and two are on a ventilator. Ten other patients are recovering.[ HOW TO GET THE VACCINE, TRACKING NUMBERS IN KANSAS, MISSOURI ]WEDNESDAY12:30 p.m. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported an increase of 322 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in its first update since Monday, pushing the statewide total to 317,017 since the outbreak started.KDHE reported 10 new deaths, making the total since the start of the outbreak 5,139. The state reported hospitalizations increased by 29 to 11,009 since the start of the outbreak.State health officials are now also tracking MIS-C cases in the state, or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children, associated with COVID-19. So far, the state notes 15 cases.The overall monthly positivity is at 2.8% for June 2021 to date. While showing small increases since the start of the month, that number is down from a high of 16.5% in November.The state also said it has vaccinated 1,275,987 people, 2,305,528 total doses of the vaccine have been administered and 43.8% of the population has been vaccinated with one dose and 38% have completed vaccination.[ KANSAS COVID-19 COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]Johnson County is the county with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the outbreak with 59,683 cases. Sedgwick County is second with 57,856. Wyandotte County is third with 20,931 cases. Leavenworth County has 7,294 cases, Douglas County reports 8,962 and Miami County has 2,794.Health officials said they’re now monitoring 17 outbreak clusters, down from 22 earlier this month. A total of 97 cases have been attributed to these clusters with 7 hospitalizations and 1 death. One of these clusters is listed at a group living home in Kansas City, Kansas, with 6 cases listed in the past 14 days. 9 a.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced the state’s total of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 520,350 on Wednesday, which is an increase of 569 cases. The state also reported there have been 92,178 (+302) possible antigen cases to date.The state said there have now been 9,250 (+2) deaths since the start of the outbreak.The overall seven-day positivity rate for the state is at 6.8%, according to the MDHSS. While that number has climbed more than two percentage points this month, the number is still down from a high of 23.1% in November.The state said it has administered 4,862,502 vaccine doses, 2,684,812 people have initiated vaccination (or received one dose) and 2,340,554 people have received a second dose. Overall, the state said 43.7% of the population has received at least one dose and 38% have completed vaccination.An estimated 42.1% of Kansas City residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while Jackson County is at 40.4%, Clay County is at 34%, Cass County is at 34.4% and Platte County is at 29.5%.[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD]Missouri does not list how many people have recovered from COVID-19.The state reported there have been 2,941 positive cases over the last seven days and an average of 420 cases a day.Looking at local numbers, the DHSS reported 39,937 confirmed cases in Kansas City, Missouri, and 32,653 cases in Jackson County. The state also lists 8,531 cases in Clay County, 7,877 in Cass County and 3,360 in Platte County. 8 a.m. — Doctors with the University of Kansas Health System said there are currently 11 patients at the University of Kansas Hospital receiving treatment for active coronavirus infections. Of those 11, two are in the ICU and one is on a ventilator. Ten other patients are recovering. [ HOW TO GET THE VACCINE, TRACKING NUMBERS IN KANSAS, MISSOURI ]TUESDAY9:15 a.m. — Administrators at North Kansas City High School have paused summer activities for at least three sports after several student-athletes tested positive for COVID-19. According to a letter sent to parents Monday, nine student-athletes at the school have tested positive for coronavirus. Those students participated in activities through last week. READ MORE9 a.m. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced the state’s total of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 519,781 on Tuesday, which is an increase of 514 cases. The state also reported there have been 91,876 (+219) possible antigen cases to date.The state said there have now been 9,248 (+18) deaths since the start of the outbreak.The overall seven-day positivity rate for the state is at 6.8%, according to the MDHSS. While that number has climbed more than two percentage points this month, the number is still down from a high of 23.1% in November.The state said it has administered 4,850,985 vaccine doses, 2,679,474 people have initiated vaccination (or received one dose) and 2,333,708 people have received a second dose. Overall, the state said 43.7% of the population has received at least one dose and 38% have completed vaccination.An estimated 42% of Kansas City residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while Jackson County is at 40.2%, Clay County is at 33.9%, Cass County is at 34.3% and Platte County is at 29.3%.[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD]Missouri does not list how many people have recovered from COVID-19.The state reported there have been 2,829 positive cases over the last seven days and an average of 404 cases a day.Looking at local numbers, the DHSS reported 39,920 confirmed cases in Kansas City, Missouri, and 32,621 cases in Jackson County. The state also lists 8,523 cases in Clay County, 7,861 in Cass County and 3,359 in Platte County. [ HOW TO GET THE VACCINE, TRACKING NUMBERS IN KANSAS, MISSOURI ]MONDAY3 p.m. — Missouri now leads the nation with the highest rate of new COVID-19 infections as vaccinations lag and the Delta variant takes hold.One person in every 1,349 people in the state was diagnosed with COVID-19 from June 13 to Sunday, new data shows. READ MORE 2:30 p.m. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported an increase of 156 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in its first update since Monday, pushing the statewide total to 316,695 since the outbreak started.KDHE reported 0 new deaths, making the total since the start of the outbreak 5,129. The state reported hospitalizations increased by 21 to 10,980 since the start of the outbreak.State health officials are now also tracking MIS-C cases in the state, or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children, associated with COVID-19. So far, the state notes 15 cases.The overall monthly positivity is at 2.7% for June 2021 to date. That number is down from a high of 16.5% in November.The state also said it has vaccinated 1,273,094 people, 2,298,497 total doses of the vaccine have been administered and 43.7% of the population has been vaccinated with one dose and 37.8% have completed vaccination.[ KANSAS COVID-19 COVID-19 DASHBOARD ]Johnson County is the county with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the outbreak with 59,604 cases. Sedgwick County is second with 57,780. Wyandotte County is third with 20,901 cases. Leavenworth County has 7,290 cases, Douglas County reports 8,956 and Miami County has 2,793.Health officials said they’re now monitoring 22 outbreak clusters. A total of 1,732 cases have been attributed to these clusters with 21 hospitalizations and 10 deaths.2 p.m. — The Unified Government Public Health Department is offering incentives to help boost vaccination rates for county residents.Starting Tuesday, people who live in the county and who get vaccinated at any UGPHD vaccine clinic can choose an immediate gift to take home, or be entered to win something even bigger. As part of the county’s #IHelpedConquerCOVID incentive program, they have some pretty cool things to hand out for those choosing to be vaccinated. READ MORE.Noon — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced the state’s total of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 519,267 on Monday, which is an increase of 301 cases. The state also reported there have been 91,657 possible antigen cases to date – this is a decrease of 278 cases. No explanation was provided for the change. The state said there have now been 9,230 (+0) deaths since the start of the outbreak.The overall seven-day positivity rate for the state is at 6.8%, according to the MDHSS. While that number has climbed more than two percentage points this month, the number is still down from a high of 23.1% in November.The state said it has administered 4,843,349 vaccine doses, 2,676,046 people have initiated vaccination (or received one dose) and 2,329,018 people have received a second dose. Overall, the state said 43.6% of the population has received at least one dose and 37.9% have completed vaccination.An estimated 42% of Kansas City residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while Jackson County is at 40.2%, Clay County is at 33.9%, Cass County is at 34.3% and Platte County is at 29.3%.[ MISSOURI COVID-19 DASHBOARD]Missouri does not list how many people have recovered from COVID-19.The state reported there have been 2,702 positive cases over the last seven days and an average of 386 cases a day.Looking at local numbers, the DHSS reported 39,912 confirmed cases in Kansas City, Missouri, and 32,607 cases in Jackson County. The state also lists 8,509 cases in Clay County, 7,855 in Cass County and 3,355 in Platte County.8 a.m. — Doctors with the University of Kansas Health System said there are currently 17 patients at the University of Kansas Hospital receiving treatment for active coronavirus infections. Of those 17, two are in the ICU and one is on a ventilator. Seven other patients are recovering. Doctors said they believe this rate will continue until more people become vaccinated. [ HOW TO GET THE VACCINE, TRACKING NUMBERS IN KANSAS, MISSOURI ] The Associated Press contributed to this story.