In the past week, Ky. has had the most new coronavirus cases yet; share of Kentuckians testing positive jumps again, to 7.24%

Map, relabeled by Kentucky Health News, shows rates over last seven days. Click it to enlarge.

By Al Cross

Kentucky Health News

Kentucky reported 1,177 new cases of the novel coronavirus Sunday, less than the last two Sundays but enough to make the state's Monday-to-Sunday reporting week the most infectious yet.

Meanwhile, the share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the last seven days rose again, to 7.24 percent, the highest since early May, when numbers were high because testing wasn't widely available.

That means Kentuckians, especially those in high-infection "red zone" counties, must follow the state's recommendations to reduce the spread of the virus, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a press release. The 80 counties that were in the red zone on Thursday, Nov. 5 should follow the recommendations Monday through Sunday, Nov. 9-15, state officials said.

“This virus is spreading in communities in every corner of the commonwealth, and everyone, from our businesses and schools to individuals, must do their part to stop the spread and save lives,” Beshear said. “Without each of us doing our part, the rampant spread will continue to take more Kentuckians. Let’s come together as Team Kentucky to defeat this virus.”

New-case numbers are typically low on Sundays due to limited testing and reporting on weekends. The 1,177 cases reported Sunday made the seven-day rolling average of new cases 1,774. That is about double what it was four weeks ago and about triple what it was eight weeks ago.

The unadjusted daily reports in the reporting week totaled 12,421; the previous week's unadjusted figure figure was 11,774.

Health Commissioner Steven Stack said in the release, “With colder outdoor temperatures just around the corner, I encourage you to get outside and enjoy the great weather while it lasts. . . . The more we have contact with each other, the more transmission we’re going to see. So please avoid social gatherings, maintain a social distance of at least six feet, wear a mask and wash your hands thoroughly. Now is not the time to let your guard down. We must maintain our vigilance.”

Hospital numbers declined slightly. Kentucky hospitals had 1,102 covid-19 patients, 279 of them in intensive care and 148 of those on ventilators.

The state reported four more deaths from covid-19: two 92-year-old men and a 77-year-old man from Hardin County, and a 76-year-old man from Marion County. They brought the state's death toll from the disease to 1,565.

Counties with more than 10 new cases were: Jefferson, 223; Fayette, 99; Pike, 82; Kenton, 60; Bell, 46; Boone, 42; Warren, 41; McCracken, 35; Bullitt, 31; Elliott, 29; Nelson, 29; Campbell, 28; Graves, 24; Daviess, 20; Christian, 16; Oldham, 16; Boyd, Franklin, Greenup and Hardin, 14 each; Henderson, 13; Calloway, Madison and Rowan, 12 each; and Monroe, 11.

In other coronavirus news:

• Kentucky's surge is part of a national surge. On Saturday, the nation reported a record number of cases in one day: 126,742.
• President-elect Joe Biden "has ambitious plans to curb the coronavirus, but they could face big hurdles in a divided country and Congress," The Washington Post reports. "His first order of business will be to call Republican and Democratic governors to urge them to adopt mask mandates and communicate the importance of social distancing."
  
• The Army general planning the distribution of 300 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, the equipment to administer them, and the dry ice needed to keep them at 94 degrees below zero, told David Martin of CBS that his biggest worry is that “We get vaccines to the American people and they don’t take ‘em . . . It does keep me up at night.” The New Jersey health commissioner said she surveyed 2,000 doctors and nurses and only 60% and 40%, respectively, said they would take a vaccine.
• The Kentucky High School Athletic Association delayed its football playoffs one week "to provide schools and school systems time to review their situations and work with their health departments to determine the best course of action," it said. "The first round of the playoffs will now take place the weekend of Nov. 19-21 with no additional planned changes in the playoff structure at this point in time."
• Maggie Menderski of the Courier Journal writes about the people in the state' health cabinet's Complaint Review Branch who answer emails sent to the KYcovid19@ky.gov address: "They're genuinely running a complaint department in a year where seemingly everyone is hurting and in theory, everyone has the right to complain. And the problems that come across their desks? They're heartbreaking because the pandemic has disrupted so many lives. The manager of the operation, Sherry Carnahan, told her, "People are more desperate. We get the calls and the tears that people are living in their cars. You have parents crying that they’ve lost their job, they're going to lose their home, they can’t feed their kids."

Emailing KYcovid19@ky.gov gets you these folks. (Photo by James Crisp via CJ)