Ky. sees second highest increase of new COVID-19 cases

Kentucky gained 797 new cases of COVID-19 from Thursday to Friday, the second highest reported number to date.

Those numbers put the overall total at 25,931 and Governor Andy Beshear says they’ll monitor the numbers over the weekend—but if things don’t start changing, more restrictions could be on the way next week.

With 574,283 tests performed so far in the Commonwealth, the positivity rate is now at 5.28 percent, which is what the White House and other agencies are calling the ‘danger zone’ and when preventative measures should be taken. Nineteen more children under five years old have tested positive for the virus.

The Governor says while they’re not yet asking churches and other religious organizations to close, they are strongly recommending they make sure they’re doing what they can to stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep people safe.

Seven more Kentuckians have passed away, putting that total at 691. When it comes to schools starting, the Governor says it depends on what the data shows in the coming days, but it’s possible they’ll recommend to schools that have start dates in early August to push it back to later in the August.  Christian and surrounding counties already have start dates scheduled for the end of August. Where they’ll go from there, if the positivity rate continues to climb, remains to be seen.

Tennessee gained around 2,091 COVID-19 cases, as reported by the Tennessee Department of Health, putting their overall total now at 89,078—they gained around 13 deaths, up to 938.  Montgomery Count is at 1,325 cases, Robertson County is at 1,225 and Stewart County is up to 54 cases.