KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri and Kansas contributed a record number of cases to the more than 4 million COVID-19 infections reported in the U.S. during November.
The number of new cases reported in Kansas, Missouri and across the seven-county Kansas City area more than doubled across the board compared to the record numbers set in October.
There were a record number of deaths across Kansas (531) and Missouri (918) in November as well, including a record-tying 234 in the Kansas City region.
On average, more than 48 deaths, including nearly eight from the KC area, were reported each day in November across Kansas and Missouri.
Missouri, which has broken its record for new cases every month since June, reported 123,756 COVID-19 cases in November — an average of more than 4,125 per day.
That was more than twice the number of new cases for October (59,737) as the virus continues to spread through the state, increasing 107% from October to November.
More than 39% of all 314,990 cases reported in Missouri since the beginning of the pandemic were reported in November.
To date, there have been more than 30,000 cases, including at least 326 deaths attributed to COVID-19, in Jackson County alone.
Even with most health departments closed since last Thursday, more than 15,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Missouri from Thursday to Monday morning with cases expected to rise again in the coming weeks after Thanksgiving travel and gatherings.
Kansas hasn’t fared any better, setting a new record for the fifth consecutive month with 72,579 new COVID-19 cases in November.
That represents a more than 180% increase from the 25,851 new cases reported in October.
More than 45.5% of all COVID-19 cases in Kansas since the start of the pandemic were reported in November.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment only reports updates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but the state health department has added at least 4,000 new cases with every report since Nov. 6 — a span of 11 straight reporting days.
Of the nearly 200,000 cases reported in Kansas and Missouri during November, nearly 35,000 were in the Kansas City area.
State and local health departments in the seven-county Kansas City region — Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties in Kansas along with Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri — reported 34,841 new COVID-19 cases, an average of more than 1,161 per day, in November.
The Kansas City area had reported at least 10,000 cases per month since July, including a record 14,408 in October, but November shattered those records with a month-over-month jump of nearly 142%.
More than 37% of all 93,844 COVID-19 cases reported in Missouri through Monday were reported in November.
