KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — December was the deadliest month of the coronavirus pandemic in the Kansas City area, where an average of 11 people died each day from COVID-19.

The Kansas City metropolitan area recorded 342 COVID-19 deaths through Dec. 30, the Kansas City Star reported. All told, 1,353 area residents have died from the virus since the onset of the pandemic. The metro area includes Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.

In Missouri, the virus has claimed 5,519 lives, including 28 new deaths reported Thursday by the st...