Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday reported 674 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases were confirmed over the previous 24 hours in Kentucky, the second-highest number of cases reported in a single-day.
On Sunday, officials announced 979 new cases, the most ever reported in a single-day in the commonwealth.
The new cases increase the state’s total to 24,060 COVID-19 victims. Over the last 12 days, 5,919 (24.6 percent of all cases) confirmed cases of the virus have been announced, an average of 493 per day.
Of the new cases, 23 are children under the age of five, according to officials, and over the last nine days, 94 children in that age group have been diagnosed with coronavirus.
“Here in Kentucky, our surge continues … There is only one way to address this virus, and that’s with statewide policies,” Beshear said. “Because when you can have 100 cases (in one county) over the course of a week, surely to God we all want to prevent that, and not to say, ‘There’s not a problem here,’ until it’s out of control. That would be taking approaches like we’re seeing in other states where the numbers have to be in the thousands before we act.”
“We have got to be committed to doing better, and I do see a lot of that out there,” Beshear added. “We’ve got to make sure we are not one of these other states where their cases are exploding. We still have time to act. But we have got to know that we are on that trajectory, we are on that path, without everybody doing the right thing.”
Analyzing the numbers, Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said the state’s recent rise in cases is a stark reminder to be more disciplined about wearing masks, maintaining social distance and washing and sanitizing hands.
“These numbers today are not a surprise,” Dr. Stack said. “They unfortunately validate where we are on this journey. Having nearly 700 new positives puts us solidly at the base of that escalation of the curve. It’s consistent with what we’ve seen in the last week where our numbers clearly broke out of a multi-month stable period.”
Beshear reported three new deaths Tuesday, raising the total to 674 (2.8 percent fatality rate) Kentuckians lost to the virus.
The deaths reported Tuesday include a 63-year-old man from Calloway County, a 91-year-old woman from Casey County and a 95-year-old man from Shelby County.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,900 (12.1 percent) patients have been hospitalized, with 532 victims currently receiving treatment in a hospital. To date, 1,036 (4.3 percent) people have been treated in ICU, with 136 patients currently in ICU.
At least 6,928 (28.8 percent) patients have recovered from the virus, and 549,208 (12.5 percent of the population) COVID-19 tests have been administered in the state.
The commonwealth’s positivity rate is 4.37 percent.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
