These Are The Counties In The Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area Where COVID-19 Is Growing The Fastest

Kansas City MO

12 February, 2022

3:26 PM

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By Evan Comen, 24/7 Wall St. Kansas City 2022-02-12 After adding over 1,660,000 new cases throughout the last week, the U.S. now has more than 76.4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 900,000 COVID-19-related deaths — the highest death toll of any country. New cases continue to rise, albeit at a slowing rate. In the past week, there were an average of 99.0 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — a decrease from the week prior, when there were an average of 165.5 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people. While COVID-19 has spread to nearly every part of the country, cities continue to be the sites of major outbreaks. Experts agree that the virus is more likely to spread in group settings where large numbers of people routinely have close contact with one another, such as colleges, nursing homes, bars, and restaurants. Metropolitan areas with a high degree of connectivity between neighborhoods and a large population may be particularly at-risk. The Kansas City, MO-KS, metro area consists of Jackson County, Johnson County, Clay County, and 11 other counties. In the past week, there were an average of 106.3 new coronavirus cases every day per 100,000 Kansas City residents, greater than the national figure. The metro area's average daily case growth in the most recent week is a decrease from the week prior, when there was an average of 173.8 daily new cases per 100,000 Kansas City residents. The spread of coronavirus depends on a variety of factors and can vary even between neighboring counties. Within the Kansas City metro area, COVID-19 is growing the fastest in Leavenworth County, Kansas. There were an average of 161.2 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in Leavenworth County during the past week, the most of the 14 counties in Kansas City with available data. Case growth in the Kansas City metro area varies widely at the county level. In Platte County, for example, there were an average of 42.5 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the past week — the least of any county in Kansas City and far more than the case growth rate in Leavenworth County. While Leavenworth County is driving the growth of COVID-19 in the Kansas City area, it does not have the highest incidence of cases overall. As of February 10, there were a total of 23,023.1 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in Leavenworth County, the seventh most of the 14 counties in the metro area. For comparison, the U.S. has so far reported 23,544.4 cases per 100,000 Americans nationwide. The pandemic has led to the closure of thousands of consumer-facing businesses around the country. These changes have led to widespread job loss and record unemployment. In Leavenworth County, unemployment peaked at 11.5% in April 2020. As of June 2021, the county's unemployment rate was 4.4%. To determine the county in every metropolitan area where COVID-19 is growing the fastest, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed data from state and local health departments. We ranked counties according to the average number of new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the seven days ending February 10. To estimate the incidence of COVID-19 at the metropolitan level, we aggregated data up from the county level using boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. Population data used to adjust case and death totals came from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates. Unemployment data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is not seasonally adjusted. These are all the counties in Missouri where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it's still getting worse). Can't see the article's infographic? Click here to view the original story.This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.