‘We’ve got to stop this third escalation.’ 1,346 new Kentucky coronavirus cases.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 1,346 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Wednesday and seven deaths, raising the state’s case total to 83,013. The death toll stands at 1,276.
Barring last Wednesday’s daily increase of 2,398, which included more than 1,000 backlogged cases from Fayette County, 1,346 cases is the single-highest daily reported increase since the start of the pandemic, Beshear said.
“It is an indication that right now, at least, we’re finding more virus out there,” he said. Going into the fall and winter, “That’s not where we want to be. Maybe this is a jolt or a shock to the system, but everybody ought to be concerned. We’ve got to stop this third escalation.”
There are 711 people in Kentucky hospitalized with the virus, 185 in intensive care — an increase of 15 from Tuesday — and 113 are on a ventilator. On Tuesday, 90 coronavirus patients were on a ventilator. The governor said there’s still adequate capacity across Kentucky’s health care systems, but the climbing number of hospitalizations increases the likelihood for more deaths.
With 12,070 new tests announced Wednesday, Kentucky’s official positivity rate is 4.72 percent. This metric helps inform whether the state is testing enough people, Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner, said Wednesday. But the incidence rate is a better metric for determining how widespread the virus is in any given community.
According to the Department of Public Health’s color-coded incidence rate map, 31 counties are in the “red zone,” meaning there are 25 or more confirmed cases per 100,000 people. Fayette County and Jefferson County are both in the “orange zone,” where community spread is considered accelerated but not critical.
In K-12 schools over the past two weeks, 438 students and 227 staff have tested positive. In colleges and universities during the same time, 512 students and four staff have tested positive.
Beshear said two veterans from the Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore have died from COVID-19, following an outbreak at the facility earlier this month. At least 30 residents and staff members have so far been infected. Statewide, there are 857 active cases among nursing home patients and 545 among nursing home staff.
Beshear gave his daily update from the governor’s mansion, where he and his family continue to quarantine after they were possibly exposed to the virus over the weekend. The Beshears tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday and plan to get tested again on Friday.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 4:49 PM.
