Vaccines are up; cases are down

Just over a year after the first case of COVID-19 shut down nearly the entire state, the commonwealth is starting to see some of the lowest numbers of newly confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic as the number of Kentuckians who have received vaccinations tops one million.

At the beginning of December, just prior to the start of statewide vaccinations, Kentucky was averaging 3,500 cases per day with a positivity rate over 9%. This past week the state’s daily average was 780 cases with a positivity rate of 3.87%

“The number of new cases, deaths and the positivity rate all continue to decline,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “While this is encouraging, we need to remain committed to the public health measures that have helped Kentucky curb the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths that would have otherwise occurred.”

Beshear announced that cases have continued to decline across Kentucky for the ninth straight week. The

state is down to nine counties listed in the critical “red zone” for daily incidence rate.

“We’ve had nine straight weeks of declining cases and if we continue to see this trend, we can relax some of the restrictions even more. But we need to be careful and make sure we bring everybody to the finish line.”

On Monday, Beshear announced 99.7% of all first vaccine doses sent to Kentucky have been administered after another record-setting week last week on the vaccination front with more than 142,000 Kentuckians receiving their COVID-19 shot.

“We believe that we are going to hit the president’s goal that every adult in Kentucky and across America who wants their shot of hope will be able to get it by the end of May,” Beshear said.

As of Monday there were 567 vaccination sites statewide and more are expected, Beshear said. He expects Kentucky will open vaccinations to all adults before May 1.

Beshear, First Lady Britainy Beshear and Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack recognized the milestone of one million Kentuckians being vaccinated during a ceremony at the state Capitol on Monday.

“This is truly both a miracle of modern medicine and tribute to so many Kentuckians whose tireless work made this possible,” said Gov. Beshear. “This milestone brings us hope after losing nearly 5,000 of our beloved family members, friends and neighbors to COVID-19. Think about how far we have come in our ability to fight this virus, and how fast.”

As of Tuesday, Ohio County had had 27 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the previous seven days. There have been a total of 2,415 cases since the beginning of the pandemic in Ohio County. In the previous seven days, the Green River District Health Department has had 157 confirmed cases for a total of 20,376 ever.

“We are going in the right direction,” said Ohio County Judge-Executive David Johnston.

As of Tuesday, Kentucky had a total of 417,412 positive cases of COVID-19 with 5,029 deaths attributed to the virus.

Beshear also announced Monday that licensed child care facilities are returning to traditional classroom group sizes. By Kentucky statute, the group sizes range from 10 for infants, with a staff-to-child ratio of one to five, to 30 children for kids ages 7 and older and a staff-to-child ratio of one to 25.

“A bright day in Kentucky just got brighter,” the governor said. “The care that has been taken to protect Kentucky’s children and hard-working child care staff will continue even as group sizes increase.”

Children and adults will be screened for fever and contagious symptoms when they enter child care facilities. Personal protective equipment will be provided and worn, and proper sanitization and infection-control measures will be required.

Social distancing requirements will continue to be observed and facility visits will be limited. The same staff members are being asked to work with the same children each day, reducing potential exposure.