New coronavirus cases dropped in Ky. last week but Covid-19 deaths increased; N.Y. Times ranks new-case rate 2nd in nation

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Kentucky reported a 46 percent drop in new coronavirus cases last week, but its rate of new infections remained among the highest in the nation.

The state Department for Public Health reports that there were 2,572 new cases of the coronavirus last week, or 367 cases per day. That’s down 45.6% from the 4,736 cases reported in the prior week’s report.

The weekly new-case rate was 6.39 cases per 100,000 residents, down from 7.99 the week prior and 9.23 the week before that. The top 10 counties were Bath, 18.29 cases per 100,000; Adair, 17.86; Rockcastle, 17.11; Clinton, 16.78; Webster, 12.14; Morgan, 11.81; Rowan, 11.68; Floyd, 11.64; Russell, 11.16; and Montgomery, 11.16.

Despite the continued decline on the state report, The New York Times ranked Kentucky’s seven-day new-case rate second in the nation, behind Florida. The Times reports that Kentucky has seen a 41% increase in cases in the last two weeks. The discrepancy could stem in part from Union County, which the Times says has a rate of 81 per 100,000. The county is home to a federal Job Corps center, and federal facilities generally do not report Covid-19 cases to the state.

The state attributed 47 more deaths to Covid-19 last week, up from 13 the week prior. The state’s pandemic death toll is now 18,177.