18,000 Kentuckians have died as a result of Covid-19, state says

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

New cases of the coronavirus in Kentucky have dropped for two weeks in a row, but deaths from the virus have increased, bringing the state’s pandemic death toll to exactly 18,000 people.

The state Department for Public Health‘s latest weekly report shows the department attributed 61 more deaths to Covid-19 last week, up from 49 the week before. Tiny Robertson County has the highest death rate but is tied with Elliott County for the lowest number of deaths, 22.

There were 4,065 new cases of the virus last week, or 580 per day. That’s a 28% drop from last week and down 36% from two weeks ago. People 18 and younger made up 22% of last week’s new cases.

The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the coronavirus in the past seven days was 9.92%, which was virtually the same as the week prior when it was 9.93%. These numbers do not reflect at-home testing.

The weekly new-case rate was 13.99 cases per 100,000 residents, up from 13.04 cases in the prior weekly report. The top 10 counties were Fayette, 39.4 cases per 100,000; Greenup, 33; Owsley, 25.9; Boyd, 25.1; Taylor, 23.8; Clark, 23.6; Lee, 23.2; Perry, 22.7; Powell, 22; and Wolfe, 22.

The New York Times ranks Kentucky’s new case rate sixth among the states. The Times says the South is emerging as something of a hotspot, with Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee in the top five states for the highest per-capita case reports.

Kentucky hospitals reported 332 Covid-19 patients on Monday, up 46 from the week before; 50 patients in intensive care, up four; and 23 on mechanical ventilation, the same as the last report.