Kentucky is trending toward having more new cases of COVID-19 this week than last and the positivity rate also continues to slowly rise.
Governor Andy Beshear announced 834 new cases and 17 more deaths Thursday. The positivity rate was up again to 3.45 percent and hospitalization numbers are also up.
Just over 1.6 million Kentuckians have received at least one dose of vaccine so far and 46 percent of individuals 16 and over have gotten a shot.
The governor pointed out Christian County individually as having a low vaccination rate and urged residents to take advantage of the appointments that are available.
He says Kentucky can reach the 2.5 million people vaccinated goal relatively quickly to remove most capacity restrictions if residents just begin by taking advantage of the appointments available right now.
There has been financial assistance available for renters facing eviction due to financial loss in the pandemic and Governor Beshear says Kentucky home-owners will hopefully soon be able to apply for assistance with their mortgage if they are falling behind.
The governor announced that he and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman are making their tax returns public, the fifth consecutive year he’s taken that step.