Kentucky coronavirus surge still building. 1,941 new cases and 15 deaths.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 1,941 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday in Kentucky, putting the state on track for yet another record-setting week of new infections and edging Kentucky’s coronavirus case total up to 105,242.
With the exception of Oct. 7, when Beshear reported 2,398 statewide cases because of a backlog in Fayette County, Friday’s total is the most cases ever reported in a single day. The positivity rate has also risen again, settling at 6.19 percent.
Cases among Kentuckians in their 20s — the state’s leading demographic for total infections — has now topped out at 20,563. Overall, that group makes up 13.6 percent of Kentucky’s population, but 19.6 percent of all coronavirus cases.
“We absolutely must double down in terms of applying caution,” Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner, said in a written update. Sixty-eight counties remain in the “red zone,” where community spread is considered most severe.
It’s important for people in those counties, which include Fayette, Scott and Jessamine in the Lexington metro area, to follow the Red Zone Reduction Recommendations Beshear outlined earlier this week to reduce spread of the virus, Stack said.
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He also pleaded with Kentuckians in all counties to obey the state’s guidance on safely participating in Halloween, saying, “lives and livelihoods literally depend on all of us doing our part.”
Beshear announced 15 additional deaths from the virus, which puts the death toll at 1,476.
There are a record-setting 974 people currently hospitalized with the virus — an increase of five from Thursday. Of those, 241 in intensive care — seven more than the day before — and 121 are on a ventilator.
“Remember, the more cases, the more people in the hospital, the more people in the ICU and the more people who die,” Beshear said. “It’s time for a coordinated community effort with everybody on board. Now is the time for leadership, not for excuses.”
In K-12 schools, another 109 students and 32 staff members had contracted the virus through Thursday evening, according to the state’s school coronavirus dashboard. In the last two weeks, 979 students and 511 staff have tested positive.
In nursing homes, the state Department for Public Health counted 64 new cases of the virus among residents and 77 among nursing home staff, bringing the total number of active cases in those facilities to 1,643.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 6:18 PM.
