Kentucky gained 5,398 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the fourth highest day of newly reported cases in the entirety of the pandemic.
Governor Andy Beshear says the delta variant has been proven to be deadly, so he urges everyone to do their part in protecting themselves and others by getting the coronavirus vaccine and masking up in public.
He reported 49 new deaths, saying that many of the deaths are people who were healthy and younger than in prior surges of the virus.
In a bit of good news, the positivity rate dropped once again, now down to 13.02 percent. There are currently 2,493 individuals in the hospital with COVID-19, 648 in the ICU and 436 on a ventilator.