Kentucky hits grim milestone: Highest one-day total of new COVID-19 cases
Gov. Andy Beshear reported 1,275 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the largest one-day total since the pandemic began in March.
Beshear also reported eight new coronavirus deaths. The total number of deaths is now 1,205.
The eight people who died included a 75-year-old woman from Fayette County; a 66-year-old man and an 89-year-old man from Christian County; two men, ages 80 and 89, from Jefferson County; two women, ages 76 and 86, from Lincoln County; and a 64-year-old woman from Mercer County.
Of the newly reported cases on Saturday, 166 were in children under 18 years old. Twenty-seven of those were under the age of five.
Since Sept. 27, the state has reported 6,158 cases, shattering last week’s seven-day record of roughly 5,000 cases. Moreover, Sunday’s new coronavirus cases haven’t been added to that weekly total.
The record-breaking daily and weekly high marks come after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump announced early Friday morning they had tested positive for the respiratory illness.
“This is our highest number of cases ever,” Beshear said. “This is the highest number of cases per week ever, and we have one more day to add to that count, and it shows that we have to do better.”
As of Saturday, 1,520,236 tests have been administered, according to state data. The positivity rate, which is based on a seven-day rolling average, is 4.74 percent.
The number of people who have recovered is at least 12,121.
This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 5:57 PM.
