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| Washington Post map, adapted by Kentucky Health News, shows rates in bordering and nearby states and Puerto Rico, the national leader. |
The decline of new coronavirus cases in Kentucky has been steeper than the national decline from the peak in early September.
The national seven-day average of infections on Wednesday was about 69,000, "reflecting a 58% drop from the latest surge’s peak around Sept. 13, when the average for that week was 164,475," The Washington Post reports.
"The effect of vaccinations is clear in regions with the highest uptick," Post reporter Andrew Jeong writes, noting a huge reduction in cases in Puerto Rico, where 73% of the population is fully vaccinated. "But a handful of states are still struggling to turn the tide, especially as colder weather brings more people indoors again. In Montana, 45 out of every 100,000 people are hospitalized because of covid-19 — the highest rate in the country. Just over half of the state’s population is fully vaccinated, below the national rate of 57.5 percent."
Wednesday's seven-day average of new cases in Kentucky, 1,320 per day, was 70 percent lower than the average at the peak of the pandemic in the state on Sept. 5, which was 4,398 per day.
The national seven-day average of infections on Wednesday was about 69,000, "reflecting a 58% drop from the latest surge’s peak around Sept. 13, when the average for that week was 164,475," The Washington Post reports.
The New York Times, also using data reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says new cases in Kentucky have declined 36% in the last 14 days, the fifth fastest rate in the nation.
"The effect of vaccinations is clear in regions with the highest uptick," Post reporter Andrew Jeong writes, noting a huge reduction in cases in Puerto Rico, where 73% of the population is fully vaccinated. "But a handful of states are still struggling to turn the tide, especially as colder weather brings more people indoors again. In Montana, 45 out of every 100,000 people are hospitalized because of covid-19 — the highest rate in the country. Just over half of the state’s population is fully vaccinated, below the national rate of 57.5 percent."
Kentucky is slightly behind the national rate, with 54.6% fully vaccinated. That is 24th among the states, but better than all bordering states except Virginia's 63%. Kentucky now ranks just ahead of No. 25 Illinois, which long had a slightly better rate than Kentucky but is now at 54.4%.
UPDATE: The state reported 1,711 new cases Thursday, lowering the seven-day rolling average by 12, to 1,308 per day. There was much more improvement in the share of Kentuckians testing positive over the last seven days; it went down almost 0.4 percentage points, to 5.17%.
The daily infection rate for the last seven days was 23.67 cases per 100,000 residents, up slightly from 23.58 on Wednesday; counties with rates more than double that rate were Russell, 106.8; Adair, 79.6; Green, 74.4; Clinton, 67.1; Cumberland, 64.8; Powell 54.3; Jackson, 51.4; Letcher, 51; and Lawrence, 49.4.
Kentucky hospitals reported 861 Covid-19 patients, eight fewer than Wednesday; 271 of them in intensive care, down five; and 144 on mechanical ventilation, down one. Eight of the 10 hospital regions had more than 80% of their intensive-care beds in use; Northern Kentucky and the Lake Cumberland region were at 96.3% and 962%, respectively.
The state reported 20 more Covid-19 deaths, raising Kentucky's pandemic toll to 9,717. Over the last 14 days, the state has averaged 32.6 deaths per day.
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