For the fourth straight day, Kentucky has set a record for the number of COVID-19 cases reported in a single day.
On Tuesday, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) reported a then record-high 6,915 new COVID-19 cases. On Wednesday, that record was shattered by 9,807 new cases and on Thursday officials announced 9,836 new cases.
On Friday, officials announced 11,096 new cases.
Of the new COVID diagnoses, 1,878 (16.9 percent) are children 18-years-old and younger.
The new cases increase the total number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 915,881. Thirty-nine new deaths were reported, raising Kentucky’s death toll to 12,358 (1.4 percent fatality rate).
The positivity rate, pushed higher by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, stands at an all-time 24.45 percent, the fifth straight day a new record high has been set.
Illustrating the impact of the Omicron variant, 11 days ago Kentucky’s positivity rate stood at 12.6 percent.
Over the last 11 days, the number of people hospitalized has risen from 1,330 to 1,856 (up 39.5 percent), while patients in ICUs went from 342 to 423 (up 23.7 percent). The number of people on ventilators rose slightly from 203 to 223 (9.9 percent).
As of Friday, 119 of Kentucky’s 120 counties are in the “red,” indicating a “critical spread” of the virus, according to the KDPH.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
