ST. LOUIS _ On both sides of the state, very different coronavirus outbreaks have unfolded in Missouri's two largest metropolitan areas. The reasons are not perfectly clear to many experts.
The bulk of the state's approximately 9,500 cases to date have been found in the St. Louis region. Including the Metro East, St. Louis has recorded more than 7,600 confirmed cases since the outbreak began. That's more than twice the caseload of its cross-state neighbor, Kansas City, which has seen 3,700 cases of the virus across the metro area, including its Kansas counties.
Deaths from the virus have been even more disproportionate: 466 in the St. Louis area as of late this week, compared to 157 in greater Kansas City _ about three times as many here.
