15 Kentucky counties at high COVID-19 community level. What to know about latest cases
Kentucky added 3,976 more COVID-19 cases in the latest reporting week, according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, current as of Thursday.
Heading into another holiday weekend with Kentuckians set to ring in 2023, Gov. Andy Beshear urged the public to mask up around vulnerable individuals and again acknowledged the state is seeing more COVID-19 cases.
But Beshear stopped short of calling the increase a “surge” Thursday, and actually took umbrage with using that term to describe the rise in cases Kentucky is experiencing. He instead described it as a more minor “bump.”
“COVID is definitely increasing, we’re seeing that holiday bump. I don’t want to call it a surge, because again, a year ago this entire map would have been red or yellow,” Beshear said during his weekly news conference, referring to a CDC map tracking COVID-19 community levels across the state.
Zooming out to the national level, about 400 people a day are still dying from the virus, while about 5,500 are being hospitalized for it daily. Entering the fourth year of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. recently surpassed 100 million recorded infections, though the actual number is likely double that, CNBC reported.
The U.S. is the first country known to have reached that grim milestone.
What’s more, there’s increased opportunity for the virus to continue to mutate and for new variants to emerge, especially as China eases COVID-19 restrictions. In response, the U.S. is requiring travelers from China to show a negative test result before flying to the country, as reported Wednesday by CNN.
Here’s where Kentucky stands with COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.
Slightly fewer Kentucky counties at high COVID level
A total of 15 counties were experiencing high COVID-19 community levels as of Dec. 29, the latest update from the CDC.
The measure uses a cross section of metrics, including weekly totals for new cases and hospital admissions for the disease, and the percentage of inpatient beds taken up by those patients, a seven-day average.
According to CDC guidance, people in counties at high COVID-19 community levels should pivot to wearing masks indoors when in public, and if they’re vulnerable for severe COVID-19, consider limiting public activities where they could be exposed.
The Kentucky counties at high levels include Ballard, Carlisle, Crittenden, Elliot, Greenup, Graves, Hickman, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, Menifee, Morgan, Rowan and Simpson. That’s slightly fewer counties at high than in the previous week, which was 17.
However, Kentucky still has 42 counties facing medium community levels of COVID-19, in line with the previous reporting week. Sixty-three Kentucky counties are experiencing low levels.
In its latest update, the CDC reported 46 additional virus deaths in Kentucky, current as of Wednesday.
The Kentucky Department for Public Health did not update its community level map again this week due to the holiday weekend. The next update is Jan. 3.
COVID-19 in Lexington, KY
Fayette County is at a low COVID-19 community level as of Thursday, according to the CDC.
The agency reported 281 additional cases with data current through Dec. 28. That’s a 2% increase in new confirmed cases from the previous week.
The county’s positivity rate stands at 11.86%, roughly half a percentage point higher than the week prior. The latest data available on that metric was from Dec. 26.
To find a COVID-19 vaccine or booster near you, visit vaccines.gov.
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