Last 3 days are highest in new-case numbers, and positive-test rate stays high; that and legislation spark concern from Beshear
Ky. Health News graph, based on unadjusted initial daily reports from Dept. for Public Health
—–
“We are now seeing a real and significant increase in cases and our positivity rate from people’s gatherings around the holiday,” Beshear said. “I wish it hadn’t happened. We’ve got to make sure that moving forward we are not gathering in that way, and we’ve got to be real careful with as much virus is out there.”
“You have to assume if you’re indoors with other people that someone has the virus, and you need to be wearing that mask outside your own household,” he said. “It’s gotten that significant and these mutated versions appear to be spreading really fast.”
In particular, he spoke about House Bill 1, which will likely pass into law tomorrow. It would allow businesses and schools to stay open during an emergency if they comply with guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“So this bill not only would would bring in a set of oftentimes conflicting, sometimes vague, but in many times very strict guidance that could be debilitating for things that we can do safely,” he said. “But it also prevents us from providing clear advice and having the flexibility we need to address a virus that just mutated.”
“I think it’s important to know that while the word consultation is being used, what’s really at issue is control,” the governor said.
In other coronavirus news Friday:
-
- Beshear reported 13 more deaths attributed to Covid-19, but said there would be more later in the day. His briefing was held at 1 p.m. instead of the usual 4 p.m. ET. The fatalities brought the state’s Covid-19 death toll to 2,856.
- The fatalities were a Bath County woman, 91; a Christian County woman, 81; a Fayette County woman, 88; a Grayson County woman, 55, and a man, 78; two Marshall County women, 64 and 90; a Marshall County man, 79; a Mason County woman, 89, and a man, 60; a Mercer County man, 90; a Muhlenberg County man, 93; and a Wayne County woman, 83.
- A major coronavirus outbreak has occurred in Morgan County, site of the state’s Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex. Average daily cases in the county have averaged 269 a day for the previous seven days, well above the runners-up of Boyle (193) and Clinton (186), according to The New York Times. Morgan, a county of about 14,000 people, reported 152 new cases Friday.
- Other counties with more than 10 new cases were: Jefferson, 758; Fayette, 302; Oldham, 181; Kenton, 171; Warren, 170; Daviess, 145; Hardin, 145; Boone, 111; Campbell, 94; Laurel, 91; Boyle, 88; Christian, 81; Graves, 73; Madison, 72; Scott, 68; Bullitt, 65; Boyd, 62; Nelson, 62; McCracken, 54; Carroll, 53; Pike, 49; Knox, 48; Jessamine, 46; Marshall, 44; Montgomery, 44; Franklin, 42; Henderson, 42; Floyd, 41; Hopkins, 40; Pulaski, 39; Barren, 38; Harlan, 35; Shelby, 35; Bell, 34; Meade, 33; Whitley, 32; Calloway, Clay and Letcher, 31; Clark, Harrison and Logan, 30; Greenup and Muhlenberg, 28; Webster, 27; Ohio, 26; Mercer, 25; Lincoln, Metcalfe and Perry, 24; Anderson, Bath and Rockcastle, 22; Rowan, 21; Grayson, 20; Garrard and Woodford, 19; Allen, Clinton and Simpson, 18; Wayne, 17; Trimble, 16; Hancock, McCreary, McLean and Powell, 15; Leslie, Marion and Monroe, 14; Breckinridge, Butler, Jackson, Johnson, LaRue, Robertson and Taylor, 13; Spencer, Todd and Trigg, 12; and Bourbon, Breathitt and Carlisle, 11.
- Beshear reported that 1,748 people were hospitalized with Covid-19 on Friday; 393 of them in intensive care and 217 of those on a ventilator.
- In partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kentucky will open a new testing site at the Covington West IRS parking lot between Jan. 11 and Jan. 14. Click here to register for an appointment.
- Stack said there is a new tab on kycovid19.ky.gov that shows where health care personnel across the state can get vaccinated. At this time, the state has 33 locations.
- The rate of coronavirus cases in prisons in Kentucky is 14th in the nation, according to The Marshall Project, a nonprofit that covers criminal justice.
- Counties where large colleges and universities opened for in-person classes in the fall saw significant increases in the incidence of coronavirus, according to a CDC report. Within three weeks of colleges or universities opening to in-person instruction, counties with large colleges or universities with remote instruction “experienced a 17.9% decrease in incidence” and university counties with in-person instruction “experienced a 56% increase in incidence.” And counties without large colleges or universities “experienced a 6% decrease in incidence” during the same time frame.
- A study finds that the loss of smell in mild Covid-19 cases occurs 86% of the time, CNN reports. The study included over 2,500 patients from 18 European hospitals. The sense of smell reappeared after an average of 18 to 21 days, the study found, but about 5% of people had not recovered olfactory function at six months.