‘Not out of the woods,’ but Ky. COVID case numbers drop for first time in a month
For the first time in a month, Kentucky reported a drop in new COVID-19 cases last week, likely signaling a leveling off in the state’s worst infection surge to date, Gov. Andy Beshear said on Monday.
The statewide rate of people testing positive, a leading indicator of spread, is also steadily dropping; by Monday, it was 28.49%, down from 30.5% on Friday and 33.06% a week ago.
“What we hope we are seeing is a cresting and hopefully the beginning of a downward slope in omicron cases,” the governor said in a Monday afternoon news conference.
But he said that good news should be tempered: though last week brought fewer cases — 74,376 compared to 81,473 the week before — it was “still the second-highest amount of cases we’ve ever had,” and more than double the number of cases reported during the delta surge.
“That trajectory is a good sign,” Beshear said, but “we’re not out of the woods.”
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is still hovering near the record set during the delta surge last summer. And unlike weekly case amounts and the positivity rate, that patient load has yet to recede week by week, Beshear said. On Monday, 2,413 people were in hospitals with coronavirus — 40 fewer people than on Friday but 87 more than a week ago. There are 454 people in intensive care units with COVID-19 (14 more than a week ago), and 232 on ventilators (25 fewer than a week ago).
The state reported 14,965 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and Sunday, and Beshear announced another 4,950 on Monday. Seventy more deaths were reported in the last three days.
A little more than 55% of Kentuckians (65% of adults) are fully vaccinated, and 23% of the population (29% of adults) have received a booster dose, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health. Over the weekend, 5,899 people got a first dose, roughly 5,500 got a second, and 12,899 people received a booster, Beshear said.
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 4:49 PM.
