‘Serious concern.’ KY reports highest daily total of new COVID-19 cases since May 5.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 371 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Tuesday — the second highest single-day increase — pushing the statewide total to at least 17,519. Nine more Kentuckians with the virus have died, bringing the death toll to 602.
Tuesday’s number of new cases is the second largest daily increase since the coronavirus outbreak began in Kentucky in early March. The most in one day was on May 5 when 625 new cases were reported, more than 300 of which stemmed from an outbreak at the Green River Correctional Complex in Central City.
The number of new daily reported cases has broken 300 just seven other times since April 1. Five of those times occurred between June 12th and 27th.
Lexington also reported a single-day record for new coronavirus cases Tuesday, announcing 62 new cases. The previous daily record, on July 1, was 46 new cases.
“Today is a tough day in our fight against the coronavirus,” Beshear said in a written update. “While we’ve long noted that case numbers fluctuate due to differences in reporting, today’s numbers are cause for serious concern.”
Last week Beshear said he would consider making masks mandatory if new cases began to surge. He did not offer an update on that possibility Tuesday. The next in-person COVID-19 update from the governor will be Thursday.
“We have worked too long and hard, and sacrificed too much, to squander the gains we have made in this fight,” the governor said, reiterating the importance of practicing six feet of social distancing, wearing a mask, washing one’s hands, getting tested frequently and “avoiding crowds.”
People between the ages of 20 and 29 account for 18 percent of Kentucky’s cases, a margin that continues to widen. Kentuckians between 20 and 39 account for at least 34 percent of the state’s cases.
The number of people with the virus in intensive care is also steadily climbing. Currently, 110 patients with COVID-19 are in ICUs — the most since May 19. Overall, 421 people are hospitalized with the virus, and at least 4,841 have recovered.
At least 445,196 tests have been administered, an increase of 9,725 from Monday. The percent of people testing positive has hovered below 4 percent since June 9. At 3.94 percent, the positive infection rate is the highest it’s been since June 19.
Herald-Leader writer Daniel Desrochers contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 4:53 PM.
