COVID levels rising in some areas of Kentucky. See latest data from CDC, other agencies
New confirmed cases of COVID-19 are on the rise once more in Lexington, with officials reporting 101 new cases on Friday alone.
With masking mandates largely dropped across the country and a new, highly contagious subvariant spreading, many Kentuckians may be looking for more information to determine their risk and plot a course of protection.
Here’s the latest information from several agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mayo Clinic and the state of Kentucky.
Community transmission by county
According to the CDC’s latest update, 14 Kentucky counties are considered at “high” transmission levels for COVID-19. Those are Fayette, Scott, Henry, Spencer, Jefferson, Bullitt, Breckenridge, Ohio, McLean, Henderson, Carlisle, Caldwell, Fulton and Campbell.
A handful more are considered at “substantial” levels of transmission.
The CDC designates counties in one of four ranges: high, substantial, moderate and low. The ranges are based on new cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period and the percent of positive nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) over a seven-day period, according to the CDC.
Footnotes on community transmission data indicate a county meets the high transmission threshold with cumulative cases at or more than 100 per 100,000 people or a cumulative positivity result at or exceeding 10% over the seven-day period.
The seven-day period for the current data set runs May 1-7 for the case rate and April 29-May 5 for percent positivity.
COVID community levels by county
The CDC’s COVID community levels tracker provides a different picture.
Under the formula used to determine community levels, all of Kentucky’s counties are rated at a “low” COVID community level as of May 5, except three. McCracken, Henderson and Union counties all were scored at a “medium.”
The CDC has said community levels are calculated on three metrics: new cases per 100,000 in population, new hospital admissions per 100,000 (both seven-day totals) and hospital bed utilization (a seven-day average).
The CDC recommends universal indoor masking in high COVID community levels, though that guidance and the CDC’s metrics have come under criticism from some health professionals.
The Mayo Clinic’s latest
The Mayo Clinic provides its own COVID tracker online, including COVID “hot spots.”
In Kentucky, the clinic has identified Mason County, Montgomery County and Morgan County as areas as exceeding 50 average daily cases per 100,000 people as of May 7.
The Mayo Clinic data further indicates the positivity rate is climbing once more, from 2.3% as of April 8 to 6.8% on May 7.
Commonwealth of Kentucky
In its weekly COVID report released Monday, the state reported 3,957 new confirmed cases over the week prior, along with more than 160 new deaths. To date, 15,734 Kentuckians have died from COVID-19, according to state health data.
As of Monday, the state reported a positivity rate of 7.19%. Roughly a month ago, on April 11, the state was reporting a positivity rate of 2.27%.
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