After a week of all Kentucky counties at low COVID level, 2 have moved to medium
Levels of COVID-19 are on the rise in two Kentucky counties, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also reports the state has added nearly 1,500 new cases.
The latest CDC data, published Thursday, follows a week in which the state was blanketed in green with low COVID-19 community levels and zero counties were elevated.
The community levels, updated each Thursday by the CDC, are based on weekly totals of new infections and hospital admissions, along with weekly averages of staffed, COVID-occupied hospital beds.
Kentucky also experienced an increase in COVID deaths last week, with the CDC reporting 57 new deaths as of Thursday.
Here’s the latest on where Kentucky stands with the coronavirus pandemic, including where vulnerable populations should consider masking in public, per CDC guidance.
COVID cases in Kentucky: What the latest CDC data tell us
The latest seven-day metrics reported by the CDC show Kentucky added 1,493 new coronavirus cases between March 30 and April 6. That’s down significantly from the 2,038 new cases added the week before.
The report includes 57 additional deaths, an increase from the previous week’s 49. Kentucky’s current case rate remained at 45.6 per 100,000 people as of Friday.
In Kentucky, 18,349 people have succumbed to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
As of Thursday, two Kentucky counties – Bath and Montgomery – had moved to medium community levels of COVID-19 from low levels during the previous reporting period.
In scaled back public health guidance, the CDC recommends all individuals mask indoors in public when a county has a high community level.
In Bath and Montgomery counties, populations vulnerable to severe COVID-19, including the elderly and people with certain medical conditions, should consider masking indoors in public, the CDC recommends.
In March, the state began reporting COVID data through an interactive dashboard which does not include some previously reported metrics. State officials announced earlier this year they would cease some reporting measures ahead of the end of the national public health emergency in May.
COVID-19 in Lexington
Fayette County remains at a low community level of COVID-19, with a case rate of 24.14 per 100,000 people and 78 total cases, according to the latest available CDC data.
Between March 25 and 31, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department confirmed one death, bringing the death toll for the county to at least 751 since the onset of the pandemic.
The CDC says those who have not received a vaccine since before September 2022 should get boosted. To find a free shot near you, visit vaccines.gov.
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.
