New Kentucky coronavirus cases tick upward to 1,993 as death toll reaches 4,400
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 1,993 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Friday and 28 additional virus-related deaths, increasing the state’s total number of confirmed cases to 394,687 and pushing the death toll past 4,400.
Though the governor reiterated that the state’s coronavirus metrics, overall, “are going down,” Friday’s tally of new cases is the highest single-day increase so far this week.
The rate of Kentuckians testing positive dropped below 7 percent again, to 6.89 percent, which means the overall positivity rate has hovered just below 7 percent for seven out of the last eight days. The last time that happened was early November. There are 923 people hospitalized with coronavirus, 265 are in intensive care and 131 are on a ventilator.
At least 562,188 people have received at least one dose of their vaccine, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
Fewer than 40 of Kentucky’s 120 counties are in the “red,” where community spread is at a critical level. In K-12 schools this week, 314 students and 84 staff tested positive, while 685 students and 105 staff were in quarantine because of direct exposure.
In long-term care facilities, there are new positive cases among five residents and 13 staff, bringing their total number of active cases to 399. That’s the lowest total since May.
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 4:33 PM.
