‘Such a better place.’ New KY COVID-19 cases still dropping after 10 weeks of decline
Coming off a 10th-straight week of declining COVID-19 cases, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reported 294 new cases of the virus on Monday and a positivity rate of 2.93 percent.
Hospitalizations related to the coronavirus also continue to decline, with the number of people in intensive care at the lowest since mid July. There are 434 people hospitalized, 95 in an ICU and 63 on a ventilator.
“Where we are right now is such a better place,” Beshear said in a live update.
The governor also announced 11 additional deaths, though none occurred in March, he said. The state also added 50 initially uncounted deaths to its death toll, all of which were discovered in an audit of all coronavirus deaths dating back to November that the state began earlier this month. More than 600 previously unreported deaths have so far been discovered. Kentucky has now confirmed a total of 5,799 deaths attributable to the virus.
So far, 1,186,538 people have chosen to get at least their initial dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Of those people who’ve elected to be immunized, 58 percent are women and 42 percent are men, and 70 percent are Kentuckians over the age of 50.
Starting Monday, people ages 50 and older became eligible for a vaccine in Kentucky under priority group 1C, which also includes essential workers, and people age 16 and older with certain health conditions that put them at risk. The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department broadened eligibility even further on Monday, to anyone 18 or older, because too few people who qualify for a shot were signing up.
“If you are thinking about not getting the vaccine, think harder,” Beshear said. “Think about all of the individuals you can protect.”
In another plea for eligible Kentuckians to get vaccinated, Beshear asked for people to get the shot for those vulnerable residents in long-term care facilities, the majority of whom have chosen to get their shots but who are among the most vulnerable for infection. In those facilities on Monday, there were two new cases among residents and five among staff, for a total of 170 combined active cases — “the lowest I can remember them,” Beshear said.
He said people have a “duty” to get their dose to protect this population. “If we don’t, and we spread it to someone else who then goes to see a relative or loved on in a facility, we could lose other relatives and loved ones.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 4:31 PM.
