Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday announced 2,736 new COVID-19 cases and 61 deaths in Kentucky.
The new cases increase the total number of COVID cases in Kentucky since the onset of the pandemic to 808,148.
The new deaths raise the state’s death toll to 11,479 (1.4 percent fatality rate) and gives the commonwealth 388 deaths over the last six days (64.7 per day), with 580 COVID-related deaths recorded over the last 11 days (52.7 per day).
The positivity rate was 8.99 percent, down from Wednesday’s 9.14 percent and the second consecutive day the metric has fallen.
Hospitalizations, though, continue to increase as 1,167 people were hospitalized Thursday, up 17 patients from Wednesday. The number of people in intensive care went up from Wednesday’s 312 to 314 on Thursday, and patients on ventilators rose from Wednesday’s 179 to 185.
One-hundred-nine of Kentucky’s 120 counties are in the “red,” as the statewide incident rate is 46.5, nearly twice the number of cases needed over the last seven days to have a “critical spread” of the virus, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
