FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in four weeks, an encouraging sign in a report Monday that pointed to another drop in the positivity rate for COVID-19 tests.
Gov. Andy Beshear reported 1,268 new virus cases statewide, but he cautioned that Monday case numbers are typically lower than other days because many labs are closed on weekends.
“I remember when that number would have been staggering, but compared to days that we’ve had, it’s a good sign,” the governor said at a news conference.
The number of new COVID-19 cases statewide fell for the second straight week, halting a bump in infections following Christmas, Beshear said.
But that post-holiday rise in cases continued to be reflected in the state’s death rate. Beshear reported 39 more virus-related deaths across Kentucky on Monday. That raised the state’s death toll to at least 3,460 since the pandemic began.
“Our hope is as cases decline, we will see a decline in those we are losing,” he said. “But still, this is exacting a heavy toll.”
The Democratic governor reported progress in the vaccine rollout. All residents and staff in long-term care facilities across Kentucky have been offered at least a first dose, he said.
“We believe, as we’re here today, that the first dose has been provided to all of them, and if it hasn’t, we need to hear about it,” Beshear said.
Overall, more than 308,000 vaccine doses have been administered in Kentucky, the state said. At least 47,105 of those doses have gone to staff and residents in long-term care facilities.
As Kentucky has ramped up its vaccination campaign, demand has outpaced supply. It prompted Beshear last week to ask the federal government to double Kentucky’s vaccine allotment.
Last week, the number of Kentuckians receiving shots far outpaced the number of doses shipped to the state, the governor said. That was accomplished by using leftover vaccine from prior weeks as the inoculation program was ramped up, he said. But he warned that Kentucky will use up “every bit of excess we have” within the next couple of weeks.
“We need four times, five times what we’re getting from the federal government,” he said, adding that Kentucky has the capacity to give 250,000 vaccinations per week if the doses were available.
Beshear recently announced that Kentucky will partner with the Kroger grocery chain to create inoculation centers that will expand the groups of people receiving shots. The partnership will create high-volume, drive-thru vaccination centers statewide.
Meanwhile, Beshear reported that the rate of Kentuckians testing positive for COVID-19 dipped to 9.93% Monday - the first time the rate has been below 10% since the end of 2020.
More than 1,500 virus patients are hospitalized in Kentucky, including 374 in intensive care units.
Beshear credited mask wearing for contributing to the lower positivity rate for COVID-19 tests.
“Keep it up,” he said. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel. How long it’s going to take us to vaccinate everybody depends on one thing: supply from the federal government.”
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