State ends October with record number of cases

Kentucky finished the month of October with a record-setting number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths.

There were more cases of COVID-19 reported in the state in the month of October, 38,877, than in the months of March, April, May, June and July combined. There were 312 deaths in October surpassing September’s record of 241.

“In America and in Kentucky, this is getting increasingly more and more dangerous. The newest numbers are absolutely staggering,” said Gov. Andy Beshear Monday during his press briefing. “We’re losing 1,200 Americans per day and we have some individuals who say, ‘Oh, it’s not real.’ Think about the amount of grief that is crying out every day in this country and this commonwealth based on those who we have lost.”

The state’s positivity rate reached the highest number since June at 6.25% Monday.

The Green River District Health Department ended the month of September with a total number of 3,334 cases of COVID-19. It ended October with an increase of nearly 2,000 with 5,269 active cases.

Ohio County number of cases in October increasesd by 163 in the month of October jumping from 479 active cases to 642.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Ohio County remains in the orange zone for daily incidence rate at 22. Counties classified orange, which is considered accelerated, have a daily incidence rate of 10-25. Other GRDHD counties in orange include Daviess at 24.9 and Union at 21.9. Counties in the red zone, considered critical, have a rate of 25 or higher. GRADD red zone counties are McLean at 54.3, Hancock 55.7 and Henderson at 36.7. The 7-Day incidence is calculated by taking the total number of unique cases in each county over the past 7 days, divided by 7 to get a daily average, divided by the U.S. census bureau county population, and multiplied by 100,000 to get the incidence per 100,000 people.

Judge-Executive David Johnston urged Ohio Countians to last week to take the necessary measure to help slow the spread.

“I am worried that people think that this is a disease that only attacks sick and old people,” he said. “We don’t know all the things that we can do to prevent it. We do know that socially distancing helps. We do know that wearing these masks helps. It is not full proof, but if anything it does help and it is a symbol that we care and want to cooperate even if you believe that is not the best way to prevent the spread.”

Johnston recommended last Wednesday that children not go trick-or-treating because of the escalating numbers. He instead encouraged families to find activities to enjoy at home.

He also said that there will be no more public activities booked in any county owned facility until Jan. 1.

“We are taking this drastic measure because we haven’t been able to enforce the dicipline and the masking and the things that we need to do in those buildings, so we are just going to have to cancel all those activities there.

As of Tuesday, the state had six states listed in the yellow zone for current incidence rate, meaning community spread. Of Kentucky’s 120 counties 69 are listed in as red zone counties. The rest are in orange.

Recommendations from Beshear’s office for counties in the red zone include:

•Employers should allow employees to work from home when possible

•Government offices that do not provide critical services need to operate virtually

•Reduce in-person shopping; order online or pickup curbside as much as possible

•Order take-out; avoid dining in restaurants or bars

•Prioritize businesses that follow and enforce the mask mandate and other guidelines

•Reschedule, postpone or cancel public events

•Do not host or attend gatherings of any size

•Avoid non-essential activities outside your home

•Reduce overall activity and contacts, and follow existing guidance, including the 10 Steps to Defeat COVID-19

Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health, noted that indicators are “telling us what we’d hoped to avoid: Kentucky is in a critical situation. The spread of COVID-19 is accelerating at a dangerous pace,” with the coronavirus having spiked for a third time.

Dr. Stack observed that several contiguous counties in Eastern Kentucky entered the red zone last week, at the same time these same counties reported flu cases. Though the flu can happen at any time during the year, it is more active in fall and winter.

“Having multiple viruses actively circulating at the same time makes the situation even more difficult, but we have effective defenses that work for these and other viruses. Avoid gatherings. If you’re around people, remain at least six feet apart from those not in your household. Wear a face mask. Wash your hands thoroughly. Avoid touching your eyes and mouth. And, clean surfaces with sanitizing wipes or a chlorine bleach solution. It’s a highly effective killer of germs of all sorts.”