Covid-19 cases up nearly 76% in Ky.; hospital numbers inched up

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Kentucky reported a nearly 76 percent increase in new coronavirus cases last week, and hospital numbers inched up.

The state Department for Public Health‘s latest weekly report showed 6,208 new cases of Covid-19, or 886 per day. That’s up 75.76% from the week prior when the state reported 3,532 new cases. Nearly 7% of the new cases, or 425 of them, were in people 18 or younger.

The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the coronavirus is 11.78%, down almost a full percentage point from 12.74% the week prior. These numbers do not reflect at-home testing.

Covid-19 hospital numbers rose, but not as much as the week before. Kentucky hospitals reported 491 patients with the disease, up 11 from a week earlier, with 73 in intensive care (up 15) and 26 on mechanical ventilation (up 2).

The weekly new-case incidence rate was 14.67 cases per 100,000 residents, nearly the same as the prior week’s 14.6. The top 10 counties were Bath, 35.4 cases per 100,000; Clinton, 35; Caldwell 32.5; Boyd, 32.1; Greenup,31.3; Lewis, 29.1; Harlan, 28.6; Cumberland, 28.1; Perry, 27.2; and Carlisle, 27.

The New York Times ranks Kentucky’s infection rate 17th among the states, with a 12% decrease in cases in the last two weeks.

The state attributed 37 more deaths to Covid-19 last week, up from 27 the week before. Kentucky’s pandemic death toll is 17,734.