Most Covid-19 numbers in Kentucky continue to trend down, but our infection rate still ranks second among the states

Ky. Dept. for Public Health map, adapted by Ky. Health News; for a larger version, click on it.
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By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

New coronavirus cases and the percentage of people testing positive for the virus in Kentucky keep declining in Kentucky, but it still ranks second among the states for its seven-day rate of daily new cases.

Kentucky reported 3,300 new cases Tuesday, bringing the seven-day rolling average to 3,382, down 25 percent from a week earlier. The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past seven days is 12.18%; it has declined for 30 days in a row since hitting a high of 33.1%.

The statewide infection rate is 49.71 cases per 100,000 people. Counties with rates more than double that rate are Perry, 197.4; Leslie, 169.2; Lee, 150.5; Floyd, 123.6; Menifee, 121.1; Letcher, 120.0; Wolfe, 117.8; Breathitt, 107.5; Owsley, 106.8; Knott, 106.1; Bath, 102.9; and Lawrence, 99.8.

Kentucky has the second rate among states, according to an analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data by The New York Times. Idaho’s rate is highest; West Virginia is fifth and Tennessee is eighth.

Kentucky hospitals reported 1,384 patients with Covid-19, up 51 from Monday; an increase is typical for Tuesdays, which reflect admissions on Mondays. The seven-day average of Covid-19 patients is 1,485 per day, 24% lower than a week earlier.

Hospitals reported 260 Covid-19 patients in intensive care, down 10 from Monday, and 138 on mechanical ventilation, down three.

Seven of the state’s 10 hospital regions are using at least 80% of their intensive-care beds, with two of them over 90%. Covid-19 patients make up between 12.2% and 30.3% of the capacity.

The state attributed 17 more deaths to Covid-19, the lowest daily report in weeks. The expectation is that as case numbers decline, deaths will too, but because deaths are a lagging indicator, they remain high. The seven-day Covid-19 death average is 30.6; the 14-day average is 34.4. Kentucky’s pandemic death toll is now 13,664.