By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
The latest COVID-19 numbers once again show a mixed bag of results in Kentucky, according to the weekly report released by the Kentucky Department for Public Health on Monday.
There were 3,625 new cases reported to state public health officials over the past seven days, according to the Feb. 20 report, compared to 4,025 a week ago, and down even more than the 5,665 the week before that. This marks the third week in a row with a lower number of cases. Those 18 and younger made up 586 of the new cases, a drop from 887 last week and 1,037 two weeks ago.
There have now been 1,708,442 confirmed cases of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kentucky, since the first one was reported on March 2020, involving a woman in Harrison County.
Despite a continuing drop overall, there were four counties which reported at least 100 new cases, up from three last week. Jefferson had 635, Fayette 246, Warren 180, and Oldham 139. The four counties matched the total from two weeks ago, but remained one below the five with over 100 cases, the week before that.
State public health officials have noted that the number of positive cases is probably more than have been reported, since many people who have a positive result from a home test do not report it to their local health department, if they do not require medical treatment or were asymptomatic.
Kentucky’s positivity rate, which is based on the number of tests other than those from unreported home kits, broke a six week stretch of increasingly lower rates, by rising to 10.14% in the Feb. 20 report, the first time it has topped the 10% mark in three weeks. Last week’s positivity rate, by comparison was 9.92%.
The hospital census saw an overall rise in COVID patients for the second straight week. 359 Kentuckians are currently hospitalized, compared to 332 last week. However, the number of intensive care patients dropped from 50 last week to 44 in the Feb. 20 report. The number on a ventilator also decreased, from 23 to 15.
Fifty-six new deaths were reported over the past seven days, down from 61 last week, but still above the levels from two and three weeks ago, which were 49 and 52 respectively. The pandemic death toll is now 18,055.
For more information on Kentucky’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC’s community levels in the state by county, and more, go to http://kycovid19.ky.gov/.