Kentucky could finally be experiencing its downward trend of the “Omicron” COVID-19 variant.
In his Monday news conference, Governor Andy Beshear relayed that testing positivity was down to 28.49%, and that for the first time in more than a month, new caseloads were down from the previous week.
Two weeks ago, Beshear announced more than 81,000 new cases for that seven-day stretch. Last week: Kentucky experienced more than 74,000 new cases — in what was nearly a 10% decrease.
From January 29-31, there were more than 20,000 new cases reported by health departments and more than 65 deaths attributable to the virus.
Furthermore, Beshear added hospitalizations are still approaching all-time highs. This past weekend, Baptist Health of Paducah specifically urged local and regional visitors to refrain from entering its emergency rooms for COVID-19 testing due to overload — especially since free tests are available both through the new federal program and over-the-counter in area pharmacies.
And that downward trend in hospitalizations should continue, Beshear added, through vaccinations and boosters. While breakthrough cases continue to occur, the staggeringly overwhelming number of deaths and violent cases of COVID-19 have come from unvaccinated patients.
All 120 Kentucky counties remain in the “red” status as of Monday afternoon.
