Kentucky has seen a decline in COVID-19 cases for a second straight week, which Governor Andy Beshear calls “a good trend.”
Monday’s 1,268 cases are the fewest in any day this year, and the state’s 9.9-percent positivity rate is the lowest since December 31.
Beshear said the state’s restrictions put into place right after the Thanksgiving holiday has helped blunt the spike but calls the number of cases “still too high.”
Monday’s total of 1,539 hospitalizations is the fewest since December 27.
The state reported 39 deaths Monday, with Beshear saying most of them continue to be part of the post-holiday surge, which normally runs a month behind any surge in cases.
Last week in the state’s K-12 schools, there were 1,321 new students who tested positive for COVID-19, 602 staff, and 5,422 students in quarantine. Beshear also said 27 high school sports teams were quarantined. He also added not all schools are reporting their cases and quarantined as required.
On the vaccination front, Beshear said the state vaccinated 82,511 people last week, which is a record. He said Kentucky is working to be the fastest state in the nation to vaccinate K-12 teachers and staff. However, he added the state would be out of back supply and unable to keep up with that pace within the next two weeks unless the federal government increases the state’s allocation amounts.
click to download audioThe governor said the state has the capacity to vaccinate 250,000 people per week but can’t because of limited supply.
click to download audioBeshear said he believes all long-term care facilities have received their first doses of vaccine.
Amy Cubbage, an attorney with the state labor cabinet, said there are still over 87,000 jobless claims pending in the state, with officials able to confirm the identity of 40,748. When asked how many jobless claims were being processed and paid daily, both Cubbage and Beshear refused to provide a specific number saying it changes a lot from day-to-day.