High COVID-19 deaths continue in KY. Positivity rate below 9% for first time in 2021.
Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday announced 2,608 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky and 57 deaths, lifting the statewide case total to 358,478 and increasing the death toll to 3,668.
Friday’s increase of deaths makes it the third-deadliest day of the pandemic. Thursday’s 69 deaths was the deadliest.
The positivity rate fell below 9 percent, to 8.75 percent, for the first time since late December. Beshear lauded this decline in a short written update, saying it “shows that Kentuckians are continuing to make those small sacrifices we’ve been talking about all year in order to protect each other until we get enough vaccines for everyone who wants one.”
There are 1,505 people hospitalized with the novel coronavirus (56 fewer than on Thursday), 355 in intensive care (15 fewer), and 199 on a ventilator (six fewer). In nursing homes, there are new infections among 30 residents and 46 staff, bringing their total number of active cases to 1,015. Active infections at nursing homes have declined in recent weeks, largely due to inoculations. Nearly 55,000 doses have been given to long-term care facility residents and staff in Kentucky.
In total, at least 382,219 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been administered statewide — 114,642 of which were given out in the last week.
On Tuesday, the state, in partnership with Kroger, will open its first high-volume vaccination site at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Beshear announced Thursday the site will offer 3,000 shots a week, and at least initially, those doses are supposed to be reserved for people age 70 and older, who qualify in the priority group 1B. The governor asked all providers administering vaccines to prioritize this population “until further notice.”
Other locations in Lexington administering vaccines will continue to do so, including the University of Kentucky, where staff and volunteers have been immunizing people by appointment inside Kroger Field since mid January.
UK announced Friday it will expand its hours of operation on Saturday by five hours, allowing at least 1,000 more people to be vaccinated each week.
Starting Jan. 30, the site will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., in addition to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. To register for a vaccine through UK, visit https://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/covid-19/vaccine.
Appointments for the Kroger site can be made at kroger.com/covidvaccine, or by calling 855-598-2246. People who are hearing impaired can call 855-326-4654. For general vaccine information, visit vaccine.ky.gov.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 6:19 PM.
