Fewer than 1,000 Covid-19 vaccinations administered Saturday; groups for and against Beshear’s pandemic orders rally at Capitol
Andrew Cooperrider, a Lexington coffee-shop owner who has led protests against Gov. Andy Beshear’s emergency orders, spoke to a group of his allies in front of a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag at the Capitol Sunday. Across the way was a group supporting Beshear. (Photo by Al Cross; click on it to enlarge)
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Kentucky Health News
Fewer than 1,000 Kentuckians got their first Covid-19 shot Saturday, the latest day accounted for on the state’s daily vaccination report.
The report shows 1,768,443 Kentuckians had received at least one dose of a vaccine, with only 974 getting their first dose Saturday. Click here to find a vaccination site near you.
As vaccine rates have slowed in the state, Gov. Andy Beshear has said he will probably relax restrictions on businesses and activities more incrementally if the state doesn’t reach his goal of getting 2.5 million Kentuckians vaccinated. He has said that would trigger the lifting of all capacity restrictions on businesses and activities of 1,000 people or less.
About 125 protesters who want all restrictions lifted protested Sunday afternoon on the Capitol grounds across from the governor’s mansion. For the first time, there were counter-protesters, about 20 Frankfort residents who displayed signs supporting Beshear and the public-health commissioner, Dr. Steven Stack.
Daily numbers: The state reported 368 new cases of the coronavirus Sunday, bringing the seven-day rolling average to 601, up six from Saturday’s average. Nearly 21% of the new cases, 77, were in Kentuckians 18 and under.
The statewide rate of daily new cases over the last seven days is 11.27 cases per 100,000 residents, down .11 from yesterday when it was the highest it had been in 11 days. The New York Times ranks Kentucky’s rate 25th among the states, the highest it has been since mid-March.
Counties with rates more than double that number are Powell, 62.4; Robertson, 54.2; Lewis, 39.8; Menifee, 33; Bath, 30.9; Hickman, 29.4; Todd, 27.9; Simpson, 27.7; and Mason, 24.3.
The percentage of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past seven days was 3.43%, just slightly higher than Saturday but up for the fourth day in a row. It’s approximately where it was two weeks ago.
Kentucky’s hospitals reported 416 Covid-19 patients, 32 fewer than Saturday; 106 of them in intensive care, down nine; and 48 of those on a ventilator, the same as Saturday.
Only one of the state’s 10 hospital readiness regions is using more than 80% of its intensive care unit beds: Lake Cumberland, at 86.7%.
The state reported four more deaths from the virus, three of them from regular health-department reports and one from an ongoing audit of death certificates. That brings the total to 6,517. As usual for a weekend, the state did not issue an itemized list of the newly added fatalities by age, county, sex and date.
Counties with more than five new cases were Jefferson, 92; Fayette, 33; Daviess, 17; Boone, 14; Hopkins and Warren, 11; Shelby, 10; Trigg, 9; Madison, 7; Bullitt Greenup, Jessamine, and Kenton, 6; and Boyd, Floyd, Hardin and Henderson, 5.