Are COVID cases leveling off in Kentucky? Here’s latest community levels, state data
For the past few weeks, Gov. Andy Beshear has been hoping a summer surge of COVID-19 cases driven by the fast-spreading omicron subvariants will crest and level off.
“We’re hopeful we’re seeing a plateau – or even a decline – in some communities,” Beshear repeated Thursday at his regular Team Kentucky new conference.
“Several counties are now back to the low COVID threshold,” Beshear said, adding his administration continues to recommend, though not require, people living in counties at high COVID-19 community levels wear masks in public.
As the latest data on cases and deaths from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show, this summer’s surge is nowhere near the roller coaster heights Kentucky saw in February. That said, it hasn’t diminished quite so quickly either.
Here’s a closer look at the summer surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Kentucky:
COVID-19 in Kentucky: What the CDC is reporting
Per the latest figures from the CDC, updated Thursday, there are still 74 Kentucky counties at the high COVID-19 community levels.
The metric combines new COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions per 100,000 people, both using seven-day totals, and the percentage of inpatient beds taken up by COVID-19 patients using a seven-day average.
CDC guidance recommends masking in indoor, public places in counties at high levels.
There were 10 counties Thursday at the low level, up one from last week, while 36 were at the medium level. The 10 at low levels are Calloway, Edmonson, Taylor, Gallatin, Boone, Grant, Kenton, Campbell, Bracken and Mason counties.
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The positivity rate in the Bluegrass State is as high as 20% to 24.9%, according to the CDC. That said, the measure likely underestimates the current extent of COVID-19 in Kentucky due to at-home testing and other factors.
Here’s a look at some other seven-day metrics for Kentucky from the CDC, current as of Thursday:
New cases: 14,049
Deaths: 76
New hospital admissions (seven-day moving average): 98.86
COVID-19 in Fayette County
Fayette County remained at a high COVID-19 community level as of Thursday.
The positivity rate in the county stands at 19.89%, more than a percentage point higher than last week’s rate at 18.87%, per the CDC.
As of Aug. 18, the latest available data from the CDC, there were 3,776 tests performed over the previous seven days.
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