UMKC reported 20 on-campus COVID-19 cases for the week of Oct. 4, down from 24 the previous week.
As of Oct. 9, UMKC’s coronavirus website reported 35 active cases and 87 resolved cases, for a total of 122 cases. These numbers do not include visitors to campus or three cases reported on Saturday, Cct. 10. Only two new off-campus cases have been reported, bringing the total to 69.
The numbers prompted praise from chancellor Mauli Agrawal. “Thanks to your efforts, we have kept the disease in check at a manageable level on campus,” he said in an email to the campus community.
However, his commendation came with a warning. “It is important now that we not take our efforts to date for granted, or grow complacent,” he said. “We have all seen too many examples of people getting sick and spreading the disease to others when they let down their guard.”
He added that the colder weather may bring a “temptation to gather” which could stifle current safety efforts.
Case counts for the Kansas City Metro area stand in
sharp contrast to UMKC. The Kansas City Star reported
that Saturday, Oct. 10 set a record for new COVID-19
cases in the Kansas City metropolitan area with 835
reported.
A New York Times tracker lists case counts at Rockhurst University and the Kansas City Art Institute, UMKC’s neighboring schools, at 30 and five, respectively.
The University of Missouri, UMKC’s sister school, has recorded 1,705 total cases among students with 67 cases currently active.
As of Oct. 11, the Centers for Disease Control has recorded 7,694,865 cases in the U.S., and 213,614 deaths.
