Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday reported 2,135 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Kentucky over the previous 24 hours, the most cases ever recorded on a Monday.
The new cases increase the state’s COVID-19 victim count to 160,232.
“The surge is real,” Beshear said. “We have so much (COVID-19) right now, it overwhelms any area and all our defenses.” The governor added that the state’s healthcare system is nearing overload, and if that happens, “… there’s nobody coming to help us; there’s no one coming to our aid. We have to protect ourselves and the threat is so very real.”
The governor again warned Kentuckians about taking extra precautions during Thanksgiving, particularly following coronavirus mitigation guidelines.
“This upcoming holiday week is a special time for all of our families, and I know everyone wants to have a normal Thanksgiving after such a difficult year,” Beshear said. “I wish more than anything that we could go back to normal safely, but we can’t. In order to protect our only line of healthcare workers and all of our fellow Kentuckians, keep gatherings small (eight people or fewer and two households at most), wear a mask, wash your hands and stay six feet apart. If we have a major surge of COVID-19 cases after Thanksgiving, our hospitals will simply not have the capacity to give everyone the care they need. Nothing is worth that risk.”
Officials reported five new deaths, raising the commonwealth’s coronavirus death toll to 1,792 (1.1 percent fatality rate), giving the state 80 COVID-19-related deaths over the last five days (16 per day).
Those reported lost to the virus on Monday include a 73-year-old woman from Fayette County; a 73-year-old man from Harlan County; two men, ages 85 and 88, from McCracken County; and a 77-year-old man from Webster County.
The rolling seven-day positivity rate, for the first time in a week, dropped below nine percent, as the yardstick checked in at 8.97 percent on Monday.
Hospitalizations rose by 40 patients to 1,573, while intensive care patients rose by two to 389. Victims on ventilators fell by five patients to 203.
Since the onset of the pandemic, 9,530 (5.9 percent) people have been hospitalized, with 2,360 (1.5 percent) patients treated in intensive care.
At least 26,611 (16.6 percent) Kentuckians have recovered from the virus, and 2.6 million COVID-19 tests have been administered in the state.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
