CDC rates fewer Ky. counties at high risk from virus, but levels in some have increased and state’s risk level is still relatively high
State version of CDC map, with additional label by Kentucky Health News
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Kentucky as a whole is at lower risk from the coronavirus than it was a week ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But about the same number of counties are rated at low risk, and the risk ratings increased in a few counties.
On Thursday the CDC listed 10 counties as high-risk. In those places, it still advises masks to be worn in indoor public spaces. The number is fewer than half the 24 listed last week, but two counties, Casey and Powell, moved from medium risk to high risk.
The 52 counties rated at medium risk included Ballard, McCracken, Carlisle and Hickman, in far Western Kentucky, which moved up from low risk.
The CDC says residents in medium-risk counties who are immuno-compromised or at high risk for severe illness should talk to a health-care provider about “additional precautions, such as wearing masks or respirators indoors in public. If you live with or have social contact with someone at high risk for severe illness, consider testing yourself for infection before you get together and wearing a mask when indoors with them.”
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| CDC map, adapted by Kentucky Health News |
The number of counties rated at low risk declined from 59 to 58. The ratings are based on new coronavirus cases, Covid-19 hospitalizations and the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by Covid patients.
Kentucky remains one of the higher-risk states, according to the CDC’s national map.