LOUISVILLE, Ky. —
January 31
Gov. Andy Beshear is optimistic that cases of COVID-19 are declining in the Commonwealth.
During his Monday briefing the governor explained the slight drop in cases. For example, Kentucky reported 74,376 cases of the virus last week, compared to the 81,473 the previous week.
He said it was the second most week of cases that we’ve ever had and it was more than double the peak the state faced during the delta variant.
However, Beshear hopes omicron variant cases will drop quickly as they rose.
“Last week, for the first time in a while, we had fewer new COVID-19 cases than the week before,” said Gov. Beshear. “Our positivity rate is also down. What we hope we are seeing is the beginning of the downward slope in omicron cases. But last week was still the second highest number of cases that we’ve ever had. We need to keep getting vaccinated, getting boosted and wearing masks indoors, but the trajectory on cases is now going in the right direction.”
There’s also a downward trend in the positivity – which stands at 28.49%.
Beshear did breakdown the number of cases from the weekend and including Monday.
Saturday: 9,144 cases; 31 deaths
Sunday: 5,821 cases; 25 deaths
Monday: 4,950 cases; 14 deaths
Vaccinations
Over the weekend, about 5,899 Kentuckians got at least their first shot of the vaccine while 5,500 are now fully vaccinated.
Beshear continues to urge Kentuckians to get the booster as it may lessen the severity of omicron should you happen to get it. He reported 12,899 people received their booster shots.
Long-term care update
Kentucky lawmakers passed a bipartisan bill on Friday allowing designated family and friends to visit residents at long-term health care facilities as the pandemic continues.
The bill says residents at those facilities can designated at least one essential personal care visitor to make in-person visits. These relatives can include legal guardians, friends, caregivers or volunteers. However, those visitors would have to follow state safety guidelines.
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