One in four Kentuckians has received a COVID-19 vaccine. 191 more deaths confirmed.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 731 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Friday, along with 25 additional virus-related deaths.
Friday’s update also included 166 previously uncounted deaths from the state’s audit of all COVID-19 deaths dating back to November, the results of which Beshear announced on Thursday. That brings the total number of newly reported deaths Friday to 191, raising the state’s total death toll to 5,695. A total of 419,872 cases of the virus have been confirmed.
Kentucky surpassed a million vaccinations this week. Having passed that milestone, Beshear said, “our shot of hope has proven to be our shot of certainty for ending this pandemic.”
The positivity rate is 3.4 percent. There are 463 people hospitalized with COVID-19, 101 in intensive care and 60 on a ventilator.
Roughly a quarter of the state population has gotten at least their first shot, state data shows. In Fayette County, 11.5 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, according to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department.
Those yet-to-be-vaccinated Kentuckians will now have access to their dose sooner than expected, Beshear said this week. Beginning on Monday, people age 50 and older will be eligible in Kentucky, paving the way for an accelerated expansion to culminate on April 12, when statewide eligibility will open to everyone over age 16. Currently, the state’s 570 vaccination sites are doling out doses primarily to people in priority group 1C, including essential workers, people over age 16 with certain at-risk health conditions, and people ages 60 and older, broadening on Monday to 50 and older.
Expecting an uptick in doses from the federal government in March and April, other states are following suit in accelerating their immunization timelines. The nationwide ramp up is in keeping with President Joe Biden’s vow to distribute enough doses to each state by May 31 to vaccinate every eligible person in the country.
As Kentucky’s coronavirus metrics continue to improve, Beshear gave bars and restaurants the go-ahead to serve food longer and stay open later this weekend. Those places can serve food until midnight and remain open until 1 a.m. Maximum capacity, though, remains at 60 percent.
Also on Friday, Beshear asked President Joe Biden to issue a major disaster declaration and secure federal financial relief for 44 counties, after an ice storm followed by devastating flooding left 154,500 homes without power earlier this month. Damage is expected to exceed $30 million.
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 5:47 PM.
