LEXINGTON, Ky. — Though he announced 4,324 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Thursday — a single-day record — Gov. Andy Beshear said he continues to see signs that the state’s growth of new infections may be slowing.
“We do have the highest number of cases we’ve ever had today,” he said, but “even with that, we’re tracking about 800 fewer cases than last week. We believe this shock to the system is working,” he said, touting the restrictions he instituted last month, many of which expire Sunday night.
Beshear also said Kentucky could be feeling the impact from people’s activities over the Thanksgiving holiday, though so far, that surge is “a lot less than what we’re seeing in other states.”
Another “leading indicator” that Kentucky’s infection curve may be plateauing, Beshear said, is the rate of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus. For the seventh straight day, that number has dropped, landing Thursday at 9.13%.
He also announced 28 additional deaths from the virus, bringing the death toll to 2,146. The state’s total number of cases has reached 213,450.
There are 1,756 people sick enough to be hospitalized with the virus, 442 of whom are in intensive care and 231 are on ventilators.
As states across the country await emergency approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, Kentucky is coordinating with nursing homes and hospitals, who are at the ready to distribute shipments of the vaccine once they arrive. Beshear said the first doses are expected Tuesday.
Kentucky’s long-term care population, including staff and residents, are at the top of that list. Beshear said his goal is to have the whole of that population vaccinated in two months, on or before March 1.
On Thursday, 239 additional nursing home residents and 130 staff members had tested positive, bringing the total number of cases to almost 4,000. Forty-five additional residents have died from the coronavirus.
“This is the reason that we have the vaccination plan we do,” Beshear said. “This group is dying. We have a moral obligation to prioritize them for this vaccine.”
