After a couple of weeks of declining COVID-19 case numbers and related statistics, Kentucky experienced a significant increase in cases, virus-related deaths and hospitalizations last week.
During the week ending Sunday, 9,761 new cases were reported, up 36.7 percent from the 7,140 cases announced the previous week, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH).
Kentucky has now had 1,364,548 COVID cases reported since the beginning of the pandemic.
There were 59 COVID-related deaths during the week ending Sunday, a 59.5 percent increase from the 37 deaths reported the previous week. Furthermore, last week ended a string of three consecutive weeks where virus-related deaths decreased.
In total, 16,004 citizens of Kentucky have perished from COVID or complications from the virus.
For the first time in two months, the state’s positivity rate went up, as the key metric rose from 10.5 percent two weeks ago to 12.42 percent last week.
The COVID rate of occurrence also went up last week from 21.68 to 23.97.
There were 299 people hospitalized last week, well up from the 234 people hospitalized the previous week. There were 34 patients in intensive care last week, up from 29 the previous week, and the number of people on a ventilator nearly doubled from nine two weeks ago to 17 last week.
Grayson County
In Grayson County during the week ending Sunday, 32 new cases were reported to the KDPH, up from the 21 reported two weeks ago.
The county’s positivity rate rose from 5.96 percent two weeks ago to 9.42 percent last week, a 58.1 percent increase.
No new deaths were reported last week in Grayson County, but one previously reported COVID death was removed from the county’s list of virus fatalities, lowering the death toll to 134.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Grayson County has had 8,113 cases of the virus diagnosed.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
