530 COVID-19 cases reported on Friday, Saturday. Victims 70 and over account for 17 percent of cases, 76 percent of deaths.

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covid-19-pandemic-logo-04-05

Following four consecutive days of declining coronavirus (COVID-19) numbers in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear on Saturday, for the second day in a row, reported an uptick of cases in the commonwealth.

The governor announced 247 new cases of the virus were confirmed between Friday and Saturday afternoon, increasing the state’s number of cases to 9,704.

On Friday, Beshear reported 283 new cases of COVID-19, giving Kentucky a two-day total of 530 confirmed cases. This followed a four-day downtrend where the state averaged 124 new coronavirus cases per day.

The governor noted that nearly 50 percent of the new cases arose from long-time hot spots, primarily nursing homes and prisons, after testing was ramped up in those facilities.

“We have been reviewing the data from yesterday,” the governor said Saturday, “and nearly half of the new cases were from long-term care, accounting for more than 37 percent, and another nine percent of cases were from congregate care settings, mainly the federal prison in Lexington. We are reviewing today’s data to see if the pattern is continuing, which is largely a result of our expansive testing initiative in long-term care facilities.”

The governor also noted that 65,800 coronavirus tests were administered last week in Kentucky, the most in any one week since the beginning of the pandemic, and increasing the number of tests given in the state to 234,142 (about 5.3 percent of the population).

Beshear reported 13 new deaths Saturday, giving Kentucky a combined 22 COVID-19-related deaths on Friday and Saturday. To date, 431 (4.4 percent fatality rate) Kentuckians have lost their lives to the virus.

The deaths reported Saturday included eight people from Jefferson County, ranging in age from 64 to 93, a 72-year-old man from Nelson County; an 88-year-old woman from Gallatin County; a 81-year-old man from Metcalfe County; a 69-year-old man from Taylor County, and a 70-year-old man from Hopkins County.

To date, 2,272 (23.4 percent) victims have been hospitalized with the virus, while 480 people are currently in a hospital. The governor said 940 patients have even been treated in ICU, with 87 victims currently in intensive care.

At least 3,232 (33.3 percent) Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

COVID-19 demographics in Kentucky  

The Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) reports the following demographic details regarding infection rates and deaths among Kentuckians. The KDPH says the age of the infected person is known in 98.97 percent of the cases (9,604).

Infection rate  

  • Birth to nine-years-old – 168 victims (1.7 percent of cases)
  • 10- to 19-years-old – 376 (3.9 percent)
  • 20- to 29-years-old – 1,448 (15.1 percent)
  • 30- to 39-years-old – 1,598 (16.6 percent)
  • 40- to 49-years-old – 1,638 (17.1 percent)
  • 50- to 59-years-old – 1,514 (15.8 percent)
  • 60- to 69-years-old – 1,185 (12.3 percent)
  • 70- to 79-years-old – 811 (8.4 percent)
  • 80-plus-years-old – 866 (9 percent)

Deaths

There have been zero COVID-19 deaths in Kentucky where the victim was younger than 29-years-old.

  • 30- to 39-years-old – 2 (.01 percent fatality rate)
  • 40- to 49-years-old – 6 (.04 percent)
  • 50- to 59-years-old – 27 (1.8 percent)
  • 60- to 69-years-old – 69 (5.8 percent)
  • 70- to 79-years-old – 112 (13.8 percent)
  • 80-plus-years-old – 215 (24.8 percent)

The 327 deaths of victims 70-years-old and older represent 75.9 percent of COVID-19 fatalities in Kentucky, while totaling 17.4 percent of coronavirus cases.

The fatality rate of patients 70 and older is 19.5 percent.

By Ken Howlett, News Director

Contact Ken at ken@k105.com