‘Good trend.’ 1,175 new Kentucky COVID-19 cases & 33 deaths. 20,000 more get vaccine.
Continuing a “good trend” of declining infections, there were 1,175 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed across Kentucky on Wednesday, while 33 more people have died from virus-related causes, Gov. Andy Beshear announced.
“Let’s remember as we work toward defeating this virus, we can’t quit,” he said, reiterating the importance of keeping in place a statewide mask mandate and rules and restrictions limiting in-person interactions.
The rate of people testing positive fell again on Wednesday, to 4.6 percent.
It’s unclear if Wednesday’s tally of newly reported deaths — the highest single-day increase in almost a week — is due in part to an audit the state is conducting to determine the accuracy of its official death toll.
The audit, Beshear announced on Monday, will require staff to revisit every COVID-19 death certificate the state has issued since the beginning of the pandemic, which for Kentucky, was March 6, 2020. Part of what spurred this audit, which is predicted to result in a higher death count, was the discovery that staff normally charged with counting coronavirus death certificates stopped doing so in November, instead relying on reports from local health departments.
The Kentucky Department for Public Health has confirmed at least 4,704 deaths attributable to coronavirus and 407,373 total cases.
At least 731,793 people across the state have received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine — close to 20,000 of whom received a shot on Tuesday, Beshear said in a brief video update. He also touted the promise President Joe Biden made on Tuesday to provide a vaccine to any adult wanting one by the end of May. “That’s really good news and moves up the timeline,” Beshear said.
In long-term care facilities, four residents and 12 staff were newly positive on Wednesday, bringing their total number of active cases to just under 300. In K-12 schools, many of which have returned in some capacity to in-person learning, at least 228 students and 58 staff have tested positive this week, while 809 students and 60 staff are in quarantine from exposure.
There are 680 people hospitalized with coronavirus, 175 of whom are in intensive care and 79 are on a ventilator.
This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 4:48 PM.
