KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, continues to spread across the world, and in Missouri and Kansas.
41 Action News is keeping track of all closings and cancellations, as well as tracking where positive coronavirus cases are located.
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Updates on the spread of the virus and how it is affecting the metro can be found below for June 23.
5:50 p.m. | The Blue Valley School District's incoming superintendent, Dr. Tonya Merrigan, said in a letter to parents on Tuesday that the district is planning to “welcome back students in person on Aug. 13." Other school districts in the Kansas City metro also are expecting to hold in-person classes this fall.
5:22 p.m. | The seven-county Kansas City metro has surged over 8,000 cases and 250 deaths from COVID-19, according to the latest data from local and state health officials, as the region-wide spike in cases continues for a fourth straight week.
Local and state health departments in Missouri added an additional 397 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, marking the fourth time in the last six days there were at least 300 new cases reported. There was only one day in the month of May when more than 300 cases were reported — 453 on May 4, which is the day the statewide stay-at-home order was allowed to expire.
4:30 p.m. | Missouri is not in a “surge or a second wave” of COVID-19 cases, according to Gov. Mike Parson. He said during a press briefing on Tuesday that there are “outbreaks in specific areas” and the state is “aggressively testing in these areas.”
Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the majority of the state’s new cases are from four counties – McDonald, Barry, Newton and Jasper.
Data analyzed by 41 Action News shows that cases have been on the rise in Missouri as well as the seven-county Kansas City metro area for at least a few weeks now.
Parson also said he does not take “personal responsibility” for those who have died after contracting COVID-19.
Watch Parson's full press briefing below:
4 p.m. | The Boardwalk Branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library will be closed until further notice after a customer who visited Monday said they tested positive for COVID-19. The branch, located at 8656 N. Ambassador Drive in Kansas City, Missouri, closed at noon Tuesday.
2:35 p.m. | Graduates of the 2020 class from the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District will have a graduation ceremony after all on July 26 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
The district previously announced plans for a virtual ceremony on July 25, but scrapped those plans after discussions with Sporting Kansas City’s staff.
The ceremony for Lee’s Summit High School will begin at 3:30 p.m. followed by Lee’s Summit North at 6 p.m. and Lee’s Summit West at 8:30 p.m.
1:45 p.m. | The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration said Tuesday that it has awarded a $400,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Mid-America Regional Council in Kansas City, Missouri. The grant will be used to update economic development plans and programs that assist communities in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
1:30 p.m. | Kansas State University released additional guidelines Tuesday on when face masks should be worn on university property.
Effective immediately, K-State said it will require students, faculty, staff and visitors to wear masks or other face coverings on the majority of university property.
Noon | Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a Congressional hearing Tuesday that President Donald Trump has never directed him to "slow down" the amount of coronavirus testing being conducted in the U.S. in order to prevent new cases from being reported.
10:30 a.m. | John Knox Village in Lee's Summit says it has not confirmed any additional COVID-19 cases after testing done at its Village Care Center and Village Assisted Living campuses. Five people who work at the nursing center tested positive for the virus earlier this month. John Knox Village said there does not appear to have been any spread to others in the Village Care Center and that most of the associates who tested positive have recovered.
At Village Care Center, 240 residents and 287 staff were tested the week of June 14, and no additional cases were confirmed. At Village Assisted Living, 41 residents and 39 staff all tested negative as well.
9:30 a.m. | Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas on Tuesday announced a proposal for how CARES Act funding distributed to Clay County will be used in the Kansas City portion of the county. Under the proposal, $1.5 million of the funds would go to small businesses relief. Another $1 million would go to Northland Neighborhoods Inc., an organization that helps Northland families make ends meet. The full KCMO City Council will consider the ordinance on Thursday.
8:50 a.m. | University of Kansas Health System officials gave their daily COVID-19 update.
7:30 a.m. | Just starting your day? We’ve got you covered with a quick look at what you need to know.
5:30 a.m. | Black people were nearly four times more likely than white people to be hospitalized with COVID-19 among people with Medicare, the government said Monday.
The analysis from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also found that having advanced kidney disease was an even more severe risk indicator for hospitalization than race, ethnicity, or being poor, according to the Associated Press.
5 a.m. | While non-contact individual sports like NASCAR and golf have been able to resume, many other sports are struggling to formalize plans to return to play. Other than the NFL, which is in its offseason, only one of the five other major sports leagues have a firm return date.
Many teams that have resumed training and practice are now shutting down operations because of COVID-19 outbreaks among athletes.
Previous coverage:
March 2020 updates
April 2020 updates
May 2020 updates
Monday, June 1
Tuesday, June 2
Wednesday, June 3
Thursday, June 4
Friday, June 5
Monday, June 8
Tuesday, June 9
Wednesday, June 10
Thursday, June 11
Friday, June 12
Monday, June 15
Tuesday, June 16
Wednesday, June 17
Thursday, June 18
Friday, June 19
Monday, June 22
