‘Additional steps’ might be needed, Beshear says as KY reports record of 3,303 COVID-19 cases
Kentucky reported 3,303 new cases of coronavirus Saturday, a new single-day high for state, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a news release warning that “additional steps” might be necessary if people do not take action to reduce the spread of the virus.
Eleven new deaths were reported in Kentucky as a result of the pandemic.
The positivity rate in Kentucky has jumped to 8.95 percent, Beshear said.
“If we don’t grab ahold of those red zone county reduction recommendations, if we don’t see those steps being done and ultimately see those numbers coming down, we are going to have no choice but to take additional steps as we move forward,” Beshear said in the release. “Please take this seriously. You are either a part of the solution fighting the good fight to help other people or you’re helping to spread this virus.”
As of Saturday, 1,378 people in Kentucky were hospitalized with COVID-19, including 308 in ICU and 167 on a ventilator.
The deaths reported Saturday bring the total lives lost in Kentucky to 1,658. The deaths included a 90-year-old woman and a 94-year-old man from Fayette County; two men, ages 72 and 93 from Jessamine County; a man, 70, from Kenton County; a man, 65, from Knott County; a woman, 79, from Lee County; a man, 69, from Lewis County; a man, 88, from McLean County; a woman, 91, from Perry County; and a woman, 90, from Wolfe County.
Beshear said 419 of the new cases reported Saturday were children.
In Fayette County, there were 187 new cases of COVID-19 and one more death, according to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department. The cases reported Saturday morning bring Lexington’s total to 13,466. Deaths as a result of coronavirus total 104 in Fayette County. The health department reports numbers from the previous day each morning.
Beshear urged Kentuckians to wear masks to help prevent the spread of the virus.
“If we’re not careful, it’s going to get even worse than this, which is almost unimaginable compared to where we were months ago,” he said.
It was the second day in a row that Kentucky reported more new cases than it ever had before. The 3,173 cases reported Friday shattered the previous single-day high.
Kentucky has reported 136,137 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to state data.
This story was originally published November 14, 2020 at 5:38 PM.
