The COVID-19 positivity rate in Kentucky has risen over 58 percent in the last two weeks, mirroring an increase in cases throughout the U.S.
On April 4, the state’s positivity rate – the number of people who test positive versus the number of tests administered – stood at 1.97 percent. On Monday, the positivity rate was 3.12 percent, a 58.4 percent increase, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH).
On April 4, 119 of Kentucky’s 120 counties were categorized as being in the “green,” the lowest level of community spread based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) updated COVID guidelines — To be considered in the “green,” a county must have no more than 10 new COVID-related hospital admissions per 100,000 residents, and must have no more than 10 percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID patients. Additionally, the county must have fewer than 200 new COVID cases per 100,000 residents over the last seven days.
On Monday, 117 of Kentucky’s counties were in the “green,” as three eastern Kentucky counties – Johnson, Magoffin and Floyd – were in the “yellow,” indicating a “medium” spread of the virus. That level of spread calls for increased mitigation measures, including “universal masking in indoor congregate settings,” according to the CDC.
As of April 14, the seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the United States rose to 39,521, up 28.6 percent from 30,724 two weeks earlier, according to data collected by the Associated Press from Johns Hopkins.
In addition to the positivity rate, key metrics to monitor in Kentucky in the coming weeks are the number of hospitalizations, intensive care patients and people on ventilators. As of Monday, 176 Kentuckians were hospitalized, with 20 patients in intensive care and nine people on ventilators.
For the week ending April 17, state health officials reported 3,257 new COVID cases and 97 deaths. That represents a slight case number increase from the 3,117 new cases announced the previous week, and a significant drop in the 172 COVID-related deaths for the week ending April 10.
Of course, case numbers are likely under-reported due to the prevalence of home testing kits, which is the primary reason health departments around the state ceased reporting weekly COVID numbers.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
