2 Kentucky counties at high COVID community level as state reaches 18,000 virus deaths

The spread of COVID-19 in Kentucky is relatively “stable,” according to Gov. Andy Beshear, who offered a brief public health update during his weekly news conference Thursday.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only two Kentucky counties are experiencing high COVID-19 community levels. Those counties are Elliott and Greenup in northeast Kentucky.

During his news conference Thursday, Beshear once again encouraged those who haven’t yet received the COVID-19 vaccine or booster to get one.

“It will help. It has been working, but not many people have gotten it,” Beshear said.

Uptake of the bivalent booster hasn’t budged much in the commonwealth in recent weeks. It remains at only about 12%, according to CDC data. Still, about 67% of Kentuckians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and cases are down from their historic highs seen earlier in the pandemic.

Thursday, the governor again signaled the state is moving into a new phase of its response.

“The national emergency will be expiring on May 11. That may mean there are more or additional charges” for tests and treatments, Beshear said.

The governor added the state is expecting more information soon from the federal government about the change, and that includes the unwinding of more easily accessible Medicaid coverage.

“We’re going to have to take about 240,000 to 280,000 Kentuckians and transition from that easy-to-sign up pandemic Medicaid into regular Medicaid, Medicare or private plans” on the state’s health care exchange, Beshear said.

Where does Kentucky stand in this stage of the pandemic?

The latest figures from the CDC, updated Thursday, show Kentucky added 4,173 new COVID-19 cases between Feb. 9 and Feb. 16.

That case count is up slightly from the previous week’s 3,800 new cases, though counts have been rising and falling in recent weeks.

Looking at another gauge of the coronavirus’ impact on Kentucky, only two counties are at high COVID-19 community levels.

These levels are based on weekly totals of new infections and hospital admissions, as well as weekly averages of staffed, occupied hospital beds.

For the counties at high levels, Greenup and Elliott, CDC guidance says people there should wear masks while indoors in public.

Fayette County remains at the medium COVID-19 community level, along with 26 other Kentucky counties. The remaining counties, 91 in all, are at low community levels of COVID-19, per the CDC.

The most recent data from the Kentucky Department for Public Health show a positivity rate of 9.92%, which is almost exactly where the rate stood the week before.

During the latest reporting week, there were 61 additional COVID-19 deaths in the state, per the CDC. Kentucky reached 18,000 total virus deaths this week, according to state health department data.

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