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TOM LATEK

Kentucky Today

It was a mixed report in the weekly COVID-19 numbers released Monday by the Kentucky Department for Public Health, as deaths declined while new cases, the positivity rate and hospitalizations all saw increases.

A total of 9,574 new cases were reported to state public health officials for the period ending Sunday. That compares to 7,927 the previous week, and brings to 1,398,705 the number of cases since the first one was confirmed in Kentucky on March 6, 2020. That is the equivalent of just over 31% of Kentucky’s total population.

Fifteen counties, the same number as last week, reported over 100 new cases. Jefferson had 1,512, Fayette 719, Hardin 305, Warren 280, Kenton 257, Boone 237, Madison 180, Daviess 164, Campbell 148, McCracken 143, Bullitt and Pike 134, Hopkins 111, Scott 106, and Boyd 103.

There were also 30 new deaths on the June 27 report, down from 51 on June 20. This brings the total number of COVID-19 deaths during the pandemic to 16,114. To give that some perspective, that is just 577 less than the population of the city of Danville, which is 16,691, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The hospital census released on Monday shows 377 Kentuckians hospitalized. Of them 54 are in the Intensive Care Unit and 18 on a ventilator. The June 20 figures were 369 hospitalized, with 48 in the ICU and 25 on a ventilator, the only figure higher than the current week.

Kentucky’s positivity rate, which is the percentage of positive COVID test results, stood at 13.36% on Monday. That is up nearly a full percentage point from the 12.45% in the June 20 report.

Gov. Andy Beshear said, “The best thing everybody can do is get vaccinated. We are still seeing huge advantages in terms of cases, in terms of overall outcomes if you are vaccinated, versus not vaccinated. Please, if you haven’t gotten vaccinated, if you haven’t gotten your first booster, if you’re over 50 and haven’t gotten your second booster, go out and get it.”

For the latest information on the COVID-19 pandemic in the state and more guidance, go to the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s website, at http://kycovid19.ky.gov/.