Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear reported 2,500 new cases of COVID-19 in the state Thursday, in his last live update of the week.
The amount continues to decline, with this the lowest reported cases on Thursday in the last month, along with the positivity rate, which is now at 8.37 percent. The governor says hospitalizations, Kentuckians on a ventilator and the number of counties listed as ‘red’ on the state incidence rate map all continue to decline.
Deaths, however, are still high, with the governor announcing 58 new deaths, putting the death toll at 3,921. He says it shows that things are still dangerous, and he urged everyone to keep up those well-known health guidelines until everyone who wants one, can get vaccinated.
While the governor announced four new regional vaccine sites, including in Murray, Bowling Green, Covington and Glasgow, Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack says they will also have local health departments keep providing vaccinations, with supply set to arrive in the coming weeks.
Vaccination rollout efforts are slowly increasing across the state, with the governor saying the supply is going up, but they are still distributing more vaccines faster than they receive them from the federal government. Dr. Stack says Kentucky is participating in the Federal Pharmacy Program, which will get more vaccines into the state through local pharmacies.
The Tennessee Department of Health is reporting 3,154 new cases there, along with 169 new deaths, putting the death toll in the Volunteer State at 10,202.