All Kentucky’s counties now at medium or high COVID community level. See latest CDC map
No Kentucky counties remain at low COVID-19 community levels as of Friday, and more than half are at high levels.
The move marks a shift from last week, when just seven Kentucky counties were scored at low levels by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They’ve all since moved to medium, according to the latest figures from federal health officials.
As part of it’s weekly update, the CDC put the total at 80 counties, or 66% of Kentucky, at a high community level. That figure is unchanged from the week prior.
According to the CDC, a county’s COVID-19 community level is determined by newly reported cases and hospital admissions for the coronavirus per every 100,000 people in the previous seven-day period. The metric also accounts for hospital bed occupancy by COVID-19 patients using a seven-day average, aiming to get at the real impact the virus is having on local health care systems.
If you live in one of the high counties, the CDC advises wearing a mask while indoors in public, staying up to date on your vaccines and getting tested if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
The following Western Kentucky counties have been deemed to have high COVID-19 community levels, as of the July 28 update: Ballard, Caldwell, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Graves, Hancock, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Muhlenburg, Ohio, Trigg, Union and Webster.
The counties that fell into this category on the eastern half of the state include Barren, Bell, Boone, Boyd, Breathitt, Bullitt, Carroll, Carter, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Elliott, Fayette, Floyd, Gallatin, Grant, Greenup, Harlan, Hart, Henry, Jefferson, Jessamine, Johnson, Kenton, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Madison, Marion, Martin, McCreary, Menifee, Metcalfe, Monroe, Morgan, Nelson, Owsley, Pendleton, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Rowan, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, Washington, Wayne, Whitley, Wolfe and Woodford.
The remaining Kentucky counties were scored at medium COVID-19 community levels.
Per the CDC’s guidance, individuals in medium level counties are advised to wear a mask or take additional precautionary measures if they are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.
The BA.5 variant of omicron, coupled with its cousin, BA.4, now make up about 95% of COVID-19 cases in the country, according to estimates published earlier this week by the CDC and reported by CBS News.
Every county in Kentucky – apart from Hickman County – was rated high for community transmission of COVID-19, a separate metric from community levels. Hickman County’s level of spread was still scored as substantial.
State level COVID-19 data
The state put Kentucky at a weekly positivity rate slightly more than 19%, up about a percentage point from last week.
As of July 25, there were 59 new deaths reported by the Kentucky Department for Public Health, and 15,884 new cases.
Kentucky has a total of 16,352 deaths to COVID-19, per the KDPH, since the pandemic began.
Coronavirus in Fayette County
In Fayette County, the positivity rate as of July 25 was 18.03%.
The weekly case rate per 100,000 people was 271.08. There were 21.5 new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 people, and 5.5% of hospital beds were used by coronavirus patients.
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is hosting several free COVID-19 vaccine clinics this weekend. Checkout its Facebook page for details. There is a giftcard giveaway for those getting vaccinated.
Do you have a question about the coronavirus in Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.
