By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Following an increase in new cases of COVID-19 every day this week, Friday finally saw a decline, as well as a drop in new deaths.
690 cases were reported to state public health officials. That is the lowest number since the 310 on Monday, and down from Thursday’s 972.
This raises Kentucky’s total to 428,527 positive cases since the first one was reported in Harrison County on March 6, 2020.
There were only four counties with 20 or more new cases on Friday: Jefferson had 106, Simpson 31, Fayette 28, and Letcher with 20.
Kenton County reported 17 cases, Boone 13, and Campbell 9.
While there were only three new deaths on Friday, based on reports from local health departments; another 18 came from the ongoing audit of death certificates issued between October 2020 and the end of January 2021. Information on the victims’ ages and locations were not available. 6,129 Kentuckians have now been lost due to COVID-19.
As was to be expected given the large spike in new cases this week, Kentucky’s positivity rate on Friday rose to 3.08%, based on a seven-day rolling average. That broke a streak of 11 consecutive days where the positivity rate was less than three percent.
The number of Kentuckians hospitalized stood at 393 on Friday, down 18 from Thursday. Of them, 89 were in the ICU, a drop of three from Thursday, while the number on a ventilator rose from 45 to 66.
Gov. Andy Beshear opened vaccinations to everyone 40 and older on Monday, and next week will further add the number of those who can get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Starting April 5, the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be available to everyone 18 years of age and older. Those who are 16 and 17 can also get vaccinated at the sites that offer the Pfizer vaccine.
“This is a good day,” said Gov. Andy Beshear in announcing the expansion. “This news means that we will beat the president’s goal by a month to have COVID-19 vaccinations opened up to everyone. We are seeing in a number of states an increase in cases and hospitalizations, and it’s happening among younger people. We want to get ahead of the more aggressive COVID-19 variants and make sure that we fill every available appointment. Make a plan to get your shot of hope.”
To see a list of vaccination sites that have openings, go to vaccinemap.ky.gov. Contact information for each site is available there.
Taking a wider view of the coronavirus pandemic, there have now been 129,988,057 positive cases around the world and 2,832,627 deaths. In the United States, the total number of positive cases has risen to 30,590,311, along with 553,826 deaths.
To see the full daily COVID-19 report from state public health officials, which includes such information as the red zone counties and red zone recommendations, testing locations, vaccine sites, and availability, the weekly White House Coronavirus Task Force reports for Kentucky, executive orders, and other information on the state’s pandemic response, go to kycovid19.ky.gov.
The Governor’s office is expected to release some limited information on case numbers Saturday, but will not do so on Sunday, in observance of Easter.
His next press briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic is scheduled for Monday afternoon at 4.
