KY averaging less than 14,000 new COVID-19 vaccines a day. 796 new cases & 12 deaths.
Pleading again for Kentuckians to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Gov. Andy Beshear announced 796 new cases of the virus across Kentucky on Thursday and a dozen more virus-related deaths.
“Every day, thousands more Kentuckians get their shot of hope, but we need to accelerate our progress,” Beshear said in a written news release. “The sooner more Kentuckians get vaccinated, the faster we can lift more restrictions.”
Two of the deaths reported Thursday are from the state’s ongoing death audit to account for each previously uncounted Kentuckian who has died from coronavirus. Kentucky has confirmed 6,497 deaths attributable to the virus and 443,408 total cases.
More than 1,751,500 people across the commonwealth have received at least their initial dose of a vaccine — nearly 39% of the population. Since Monday, Kentucky has averaged administering 13,496 doses a day — an increase from last week but still lower than the overall monthly average during April of 15,456 doses each day.
Meanwhile, the state’s infection curve remains plateaued; the Kentucky Department for Public Health has reported between 3,500 and 4,500 new cases each week since March 28.
So far, 16,532 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in April. As the month comes to a close, the number of new cases confirmed is similar to how many cases Kentucky reported between July and August of 2020.
The total number of people hospitalized with coronavirus in intensive care has dropped month over month since December. On Thursday, there were 422 people hospitalized with COVID-19, 97 people in an ICU and 45 on a ventilator. This month, a total of 1,207 people have been hospitalized with coronavirus and 230 have been admitted to an ICU.
The statewide rate of Kentuckians testing positive was 3.12% on Thursday.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 4:45 PM.
