LEXINGTON, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear announced 880 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Tuesday, along with 21 more virus-related deaths, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 411,917 and deaths to 4,850.
The positivity rate fell below 4% for the first time since Sept. 21, to 3.94%.
Just over 849,000 Kentuckians have received at least their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Last week the state beat its previous weekly record by vaccinating 127,110 people. So far in March, 167,207 people have received an initial dose.
Last week, the state received 130,210 doses, but next week it's only slated to get 98,390. Until supply steadies across the country, Kentucky's weekly allocation will continue to ebb and flow over the next few weeks. But by late March, steady supply should hit its stride, and by late April, "we think it's really going to take off," Beshear said.
"If you've been frustrated, if you've been looking to get an appointment, it is coming really soon," he said.
There are 551 people in the hospital with COVID-19, including 147 in intensive care and 81 on a ventilator. In long-term care facilities, five residents and 10 staff are positive, bringing their total combined number of active cases to 270.
In K-12 schools, where all personnel have had access a vaccine, at least 77 students and a dozen staff members have so far tested positive this week, while 235 students and 22 staff are in quarantine from exposure, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health's coronavirus dashboard.
Week over week, as more people are inoculated, the number of new infections continues to decline. Last week, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, the state allowed indoor businesses to expand back to 60% capacity, up from 50%. Beshear said it was the first of many restrictions he planned to gradually loosen, as long as coronavirus metrics continue on the same trend.
On Tuesday, he touched on what Kentuckians can expect next. Soon, he said, his office would release updated guidance on private gatherings, relaxing the state's current recommendation that people limit indoor get-togethers with no more than two households.
The announcement follows new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, which restores the freedom for more fully immunized people to gather indoors with others. Beshear did not immediately offer specifics, but said his office's guidance will align with the CDC's.
What that means is, "You can get together with more people, providing that everyone is vaccinated," he said.
