KANSAS CITY, Mo. — We have been tracking the spread of COVID-19 in the Kansas City area since the start of the pandemic.
Whether it's stories about how we bounce back through our Rebound KC effort, important information as school resumes or critical information about the November election, trust 41 Action News to keep you informed.
Businesses finding unique ways to serve our community can share ideas and connect on our KC Open for Business Facebook group.
Updates on the spread of the virus and how it is affecting the metro can be found below for Sept. 18.
11:35 p.m. | Missouri and Kansas both set records for the most new COVID-19 cases reported in a single day on Friday, according to state and local health department data.
Both states also has significant increases in the number of deaths. Missouri reported 115 deaths last week, which is the second-most in state history behind only the 123 reported May 2-8.
Kansas, which set a record with 39 deaths last week, nearly doubled that record with 76 deaths reported from Sept. 12-18. There have already been 144 deaths reported in Kansas in September, which is a record for any month in state history surpassing the 120 deaths reported in April.
Missouri capped the week with 2,182 new COVID-19 cases, which ensured the state would shatter the single-week record with 11,531 new cases for the week. It is the first time more than 10,000 cases were reported in the state in a single week.
Kansas, which saw a 22% increase in new cases, reported more than 4,000 new cases (4,075) for the third time in state history — all in the last four weeks.
There were 39 deaths reported in the seven-county Kansas City metro — mostly in Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and Jackson County in Missouri — which are the second-most deaths in any week since the start of the pandemic and the most since 42 were reported from April 11-17.
Nationally, after the number of new cases dropped seven straight weeks and the number of deaths dropped five consecutive weeks, new cases and deaths rose during the last week, per Johns Hopkins’ dashboard.
9:43 p.m. | The Raymore-Peculiar School District announced Friday that two high school students have tested positive for COVID-19.
The district, which has 67 staff and students in isolation after reporting 82 last week, said it has contacted anyone who was potentially exposed and needs to quarantine in conjunction with the Cass County Health Department. —TP
6:47 p.m. | Blue Valley North informed students and parents Friday that "an individual in our school tested positive for COVID-19."
The Blue Valley School District is working with the Johnson County department of Health and Environment to identify close contacts, who will need to quarantine. —TP
6 p.m. | Missouri added 1,843 new COVID-19 cases Friday, pushing the state’s total to 112,0836. The state also reported 26 additional deaths, bringing the total to 1,930, according to the 41 Action News COVID-19 case tracker.
The seven-county Kansas City metro added 525 new cases on Friday and four additional deaths. —AW
4:36 p.m. | The Douglas County Health Department announced Friday, staff will conduct compliant checks to ensure businesses that sell alcohol are complying with a local public health order.
The order began on Sept. 4. and requires businesses which serve alcohol to close at by 10 p.m. and stop serving alcohol at 9 p.m.
Douglas County Health Officer Dr. Thomas Marcellino, said the compliance checks are in response to a large number of COVID-19 cases which are coming from bar environments.
1:40 p.m. | According to the latest COVID-19 update released Friday by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the number of COVID-19 cases now exceeds 10,000 in Johnson County.
According to state data, 10,178 Johnson County residents have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic. At least 141 people have died from COVID-19 in the county. —SH
1:30 p.m. | U.S. health officials are dropping a controversial piece of coronavirus guidance and telling all those who have been in close contact with infected people to get tested.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) essentially returned to its previous guidance about such tests.
"Due to the significance of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission, this guidance further reinforces the need to test asymptomatic persons, including close contacts of a person with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection," the CDC wrote in a "clarification" posted Friday.
1:15 p.m. | The Kansas City, Missouri, Public Schools Board of Directors approved spending an additional $210,000 to increase all district hotspots to unlimited plans.
The district said the money was previously budgeted and brings the total on hotspot spending to $420,000. KCPS also is prepared to provide hotspots to every student in the district, rather than every household.
Families must request the hotspots by calling 816-418-HELP. —AW
1 p.m. | The Blue Springs School District said Friday that it has launched a COVID-19 dashboard to show active cases in schools. This week, the district has seven reported cases of COVID-19.
Families will be notified if someone in their student's class tests positive for COVID-19 or if their student is directly exposed to someone who has tested positive.
Families can call their school with any questions regarding COVID-19 procedures. —AW
12:15 p.m. | The U.S. Department of Agriculture will make an additional $14 billion in aid available to agricultural producers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It's part of the second round of Coronavirus Food Assistance Program funding, provided through the CARES Act.
The application period will be open from Sept. 21 through Dec. 11.
“Missouri’s farmers and producers drive our state’s economy and help feed and fuel the world,” U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, said in a news release. “We need to be sure they have the support they need to manage the challenges they face as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. I appreciate the Trump administration taking action to make additional assistance available to ag producers and encourage those who are eligible to apply.” —AW
11:42 a.m. | FedEx Ground plans to hire more than 1,300 seasonal employees to help with holiday shipping in Kansas City, Lenexa and Olathe this year. The company said many of the positions could become full-time opportunities. Anyone interested can apply online. -KB
11:35 a.m. | The WYCO Loves Local Small Business grant program will receive $825,000 from the Unified Government's CARES Act money. Money will go to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses with one to 25 employees can receive up to $10,000 in grants and businesses with 26 to 500 employees can receive up to $20,000 in grants. -KB
9:55 a.m. | Jury trials will resume Monday at the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse in Independence, followed by the downtown Kansas City Courthouse on Oct. 5. New safety measures will be in place, including temperature checks, social distancing and mask requirements. Disposable gloves and hand sanitizer will be available.
To accommodate social distancing, the court plans to bring in smaller groups of prospective jurors several times a day. Prospective jurors will then be divided into smaller groups and placed in separate courtrooms.
Those selected for a trial will not be seated together in a jury box but will be spread out throughout courtrooms.
Anyone who is ill, has recently tested positive for COVID-19, has cared for someone who has COVID-19 or is self-quarantining should not respond for jury duty. Instead, call the jury staff at 816-881-1619 in Independence and 816-881-3602 in Kansas City. —AW
9:04 a.m. | The Kansas Department of Labor released the August labor report on Friday. The state's unemployment rate for August 2020 was 6.9 percent, down from 7.2 percent in July. The unemployment rate was just 3.1 percent in August 2019. Officials estimate Kansas gained 9,300 jobs from July to August. -KB
8:45 a.m. | University of Kansas Health System officials gave their daily COVID-19 update. -KB
7:30 a.m. | Just starting your day? We’ve got you covered with a quick look at what you need to know. -KB
7:15 a.m. | A few days after pictures surfaced showing crowds of University of Kansas students attending large gatherings, the Lawrence City Council took action.
In a 4-1 vote Thursday night with Mayor Jennifer Ananda casting the lone dissenting vote, the council voted to give the police department enhanced abilities to enforce public health orders in place during the coronavirus pandemic. -KB
7 a.m. | Clinton High School has canceled upcoming athletic events against Pleasant Hill, including Friday's football game, because of COVID-19 concerns. -KB
Previous coverage:
March 2020 updates
April 2020 updates
May 2020 updates
June 2020 updates
July 2020 updates
August 2020 updates
Tuesday, Sept. 1
Wednesday, Sept. 2
Thursday, Sept. 3
Friday, Sept. 4
Monday, Sept. 7
Tuesday, Sept. 8
Wednesday, Sept. 9
Thursday, Sept. 10
Friday, Sept. 11
Monday, Sept. 14
Tuesday, Sept. 15
Wednesday, Sept. 16
Thursday, Sept. 17
