Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says the state is officially in the stage of exponential growth of COVID-19, with last week having the most new cases in a single week since the start of the pandemic.
He reported 2,619 new cases Monday but says the weekend held many more cases than that with 4,050 new cases on Saturday and 3,249 on Sunday, painting an alarming picture of the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
Governor Beshear reported 25 new deaths Monday but also reported there were 13 new deaths on Saturday and 18 on Sunday—hospitalizations remain at a record high across the state, so the governor says they’ll be sending the National Guard to certain hospitals to provide much needed back up to overtaxed systems. There will also be several healthcare teams provided by FEMA doing the same. He says last week was the highest week for new COVID cases throughout the entirely of the pandemic, and he urged people to do what needs to be done to keep yourself and others safe, and that includes masking up even if you are vaccinated.
The positivity rate actually decreased some, now at 13.45 percent, which the governor says its due to the sheer number of people getting tested, which is a good thing. Governor Beshear highlighted the difference between this time last year and now, showing that the Delta Variant is much more contagious and more prevalent in younger age groups.
Only one county on the state incidence rate map is ‘orange’—Woodford County, which also has the highest vaccination rate in the state—while every other county remains ‘red’. There are currently 2,198 people in the hospital with COVID-19, 615 in the ICU and 384 on a ventilator.