Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday reported 785 new COVID-19 cases and eight deaths, bringing the state’s totals to 42,465 cases and 864 deaths. Seventeen of the new cases were children aged 5 and under.
Boone County had 14 cases, Kenton County 12, and Campbell County five.
“We have stopped the exponential growth and escalation of this virus, but we still have to fight every day, wear masks and stay six feet apart so we can get this thing on the decline and open more things safely,” said Beshear. “Ninety-seven of today’s cases are kids under 18. We’ve got to protect all of our children.”
The deaths reported Friday include a 49-year-old man from Clark County; a 92-year-old woman from Green County; a 92-year-old woman and a 71-year-old man from Jefferson County; a 78-year-old man from Lewis County; a 56-year-old man from Madison County; a 77-year-old woman from Montgomery County; and a 63-year-old woman from Taylor County.
“It’s going to be a hard month. Let’s make sure we don’t do things that are going to spread this virus because ultimately, they do take a real human toll,” said Beshear.
As of Friday, there have been at least 803,198 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 5.18 percent, unchanged from yesterday. At least 9,448 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.
Compared to the flu
Nationwide, there have been over 5.6 million cases of COVID-19, and more than 174,000 deaths since it was first reported early this year, for a death rate of 3.1 percent, reported Kentucky Today’s Tom Latek. In Kentucky, it’s 2.0 percent.
For those wondering how that compares to the most recent flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the 2019-2020 flu season had an estimated 39,000,000-56,000,000 cases, while the number of deaths was 24,000-62,000, Latek reported. That makes the flu death rate from 0.06-0.11 percent.
Kentucky had 27,408 confirmed flu cases for the 2019-2020 season, along with 162 deaths, for a mortality rate of 0.59 percent, according to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.