Coronavirus new-case rate goes up 7.9% in one day; state clears backlog of Covid-19 deaths and adds 212 to pandemic total

Ky. Health News graph; case numbers are from initial, unadjusted daily reports; click to enlarge.

By Al Cross

Kentucky Health News

As the rate of new coronavirus cases in Kentucky jumped almost 8 percent in one day, state officials cleared a backlog of Covid-19 deaths, adding 212 to Kentucky's toll and bringing the total to 10,606.

Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that 84 of the deaths added to the list were from 2020. He said they were added for two main reasons: Some death certificates used a code instead of "Covid-19," so weren't captured in a text search, and some health-care providers have amended death certificates.

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services said 56 of the newly reported deaths occurred in January and were identified in death-certificate searches done to close out reporting for 2020. The other 72 deaths broke down this way: five each in June and July, 13 in August, 23 in September, 15 in October and 11 in November.

Deaths from infectious diseases can be reported weeks or months after they occur, because of the state's confirmation process. In the last week or two, the state has reported an average of 36 Covid-19 deaths per day.

The deaths graph on the state's pandemic dashboard shows that deaths peaked in December 2020, amid a holiday-season surge in cases, and hit a secondary high in September, as the stronger Delta variant of the virus took hold.

Ky. Dept. for Public Health graph, adapted by Ky. Health News; for a larger version, click on it.

The state reported 2,201 new cases of the virus Friday, raising the seven-day rolling average of new cases to 1,572 per day. That was an increase of 115, or 7.9%, over the daily average recorded Thursday.

The state's daily infection rate rose above 30 cases per 100,000 residents for the first time in a month, to 30.02. Counties with rates more than double that rate were Robertson, 122; Magoffin 105.7; Bourbon, 79.4; Breckinridge, 78.8; Cumberland, 77.8; Powell, 68.2; Jackson, 62.2; and Monroe, 61.7.

The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the last seven days rose to 6.24%, the same level as Wednesday. Its recent low was 4.98%, on Halloween, Oct. 31. Above 5% is a level of concern.

Hospital numbers also continued to rise. Kentucky hospitals reported 778 Covid-19 patients, 28 (3.6%) more than Thursday, with 203 in intensive care (up 8) and 104 on mechanical ventilation (up 4).

Seven of the state's 10 hospital-readiness regions reported using more than 80% of their intensive-care-unit beds, and four of those were above 90%. Among those, the highest percentage of ICU beds being used by Covid-19 patients was 20%, in Northern Kentucky.