‘It is not time to stop talking about COVID.’ These 22 KY counties at high community level
Thursday, as he delivered his weekly news conference from Frankfort, Gov. Andy Beshear was asked by a reporter if it was time to move on from the pandemic, stop talking about COVID-19 and treat it more like a seasonal flu.
Beshear’s answer was an emphatic “no.”
“It is not time to stop talking about COVID. It is a time to learn to live with COVID,” he said.
While most Kentucky counties are now scored at low or medium for community levels per the U.S. Center for Diesease Control and Prevention, Beshear noted there are still pockets of high COVID-19 community levels, the latest data show.
That includes Fayette County. It’s currently in the red, which represents the highest level for that metric.
“We need to be thoughtful if we are in, traveling to or doing business in red counties,” Beshear said.
Encouragingly, signs may be pointing to a decline in new cases, and people who’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 are seeing much better outcomes than those who have not, the governor said.
“We have seen a plateau, if not, we hope a decline in new cases and positivity,” Beshear said. “We’re watching hospitalizations that ticked up just a little bit but don’t seem to be in any type of regular increase.”
The number of COVID-19 patients being treated in hospitals’ intensive care units and on ventilators is also down, he added.
“We need to watch, but again this is something that we are learning to live with,” Beshear said. “The best thing everybody can do is get vaccinated.
As of June 20, the most recent date for which data is available through Kentucky’s reporting system, there have been 16,114 deaths from COVID-19 across the state.
The positivity rate is 12.45%, which is based on a rolling, seven-day average.
Here’s a roundup of where Kentucky currently stands in the pandemic, with figures from the CDC’s latest update.
The CDC reported 7,964 new cases in Kentucky as part of its readout of seven-day metrics. There were three new deaths reported in the state during that time span.
Separately, John Hopkins University reported 9,985 new cases during the past week and 37 new deaths.
What the CDC says about Kentucky’s COVID-19 community levels
The CDC looks at local COVID-19 community levels – a separate measure from community virus transmission levels – to capture the impact the pandemic is having on local health care infrastructure.
It assesses community levels of COVID-19 using several factors, including the following:
New cases per 100,000 people using a seven-day total
New COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 people, again, using a seven-day total
The percentage of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, measured with a seven-day average
According to the CDC’s Thursday update, 22 Kentucky counties fell into the “high” category for community levels of COVID-19. That’s an uptick from last Friday, when 19 Kentucky counties fell into that category.
Those counties include Ballard, Carlisle, Hickman, Graves, McCracken, Livingston, Marshall, Lyon, Crittenden, Woodford, Fayette, Rowan, Powell, Wolfe, Breathitt, Perry, Leslie, Knott, Johnson, Pike, Boyd and Greenup counties.
Where should I wear a mask in Kentucky?
Federal health guidelines recommend the following precautions based on whether you live in an area where there’s low, medium or high community levels of COVID-19:
Low: Stay up to date on all vaccinations and get tested if you have symptoms.
Medium: If you are at severe risk, consider masking or other precautions; stay up to date on all vaccinations; and get tested if you have symptoms.
High: Wear a mask indoors in public places; take additional precautions if you or someone you come in contact with are at high risk; stay up to date on all vaccinations; and get tested if you have symptoms.
Anyone experiencing symptoms or who has come in contact with someone positive should wear and mask and get tested.
Community transmission of COVID-19 in Kentucky
Generally, Kentucky’s community levels of COVID-19 are going in the right direction.
That said, actual transmission of the coronavirus remains high in the vast majority of Kentucky counties.
Only about a handful of counties scattered across the state are out of the red zone where transmission is scored as high, and even then, transmission is still considered substantial.
There are no Kentucky counties in the moderate or low levels of virus transmission, as of Thursday’s update.
Do you have a question about COVID-19 in Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.