Cases and positivity rate continue to drop, but 28% of new cases are again in 18-and-unders, and hospitalizations remain high

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

New coronavirus cases and the share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus remain high, but the good news is that these numbers are dropping.

Kentucky reported 7,406 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, bringing the seven-day rolling average to 9,237, down 7.7 percent from Tuesday and 26% from a week ago, when this rate hit its highest mark of 12,482.

Of Wednesday’s new cases, 28% were in Kentuckians 18 or younger, the same as Tuesday.

The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the coronavirus dropped again, to 26.78%. This rate was 27.51% on Tuesday and hit a high of 33.1% just 10 days ago.

Kentucky hospitals reported 2,438 Covid-19 patients, 37 more than Tuesday, but that was a smaller increase than other Tuesdays in the last five weeks, which ranged from 56 to 105. Tuesdays usually show increases because the numbers are recorded at midnight and Mondays get admissions that were deferred from weekends.

The seven-day average of Covid-19 hospital cases is 2,447, seven less than the recent high of 2,455 recorded on Tuesday.

Hospitals reported 448 Covid-19 patients in intensive care (up five from Tuesday) and 219 on mechanical ventilation (down 25). Nine of the state’s 10 hospital regions are using at least 80% of their intensive care unit capacity, with four above 90%.

The daily infection rate also dropped again, to 161.81 daily cases per 100,000 residents. Every county in Kentucky continues to have more than 25 cases per 100,000 residents, considered a high rate of transmission, and the state’s rate still ranks third among the states though it has dropped 14% in the last 14 days, according to The New York Times.

The state reported 21 more Covid-19 deaths, bringing Kentucky’s pandemic death toll to 12, 996.