LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Governor Andy Beshear announced 721 new COVID-19 cases in Kentucky on Saturday. The state total now stands at 56,415 cases. The positivity rate is 4.14%.
“Our positivity rate is down from yesterday but we need to continue to push that number down,” said Gov. Beshear.
Of the newly reported cases, 81 were from children ages 18 and younger, 15 of those cases were kids five or younger. The youngest is a 6-month-old from Warren County.
The Governor also reported 13 new deaths Saturday. That brings the total COVID-19 related deaths in Kentucky to 1,057.
“We need you to continue to mask up, stay socially distant and do what it takes to beat COVID-19,” said Gov. Beshear. “This thing is deadly and it’s real so let’s treat it as such.”
The deaths reported Saturday include an 89-year-old man from Barren County; an 83-year-old woman from Bell County; two women, ages 80 and 83, and two men, both age 81, from Jefferson County; a 78-year-old woman from Logan County; a 59-year-old woman from Muhlenberg County; a 76-year-old woman from Simpson County; and three women, ages 62, 81 and 93, and a 72-year-old man from Warren County.
As of Saturday, at least 990,957 tests had been administered. The number of Kentuckians who have recovered is at least 10,872.
After a recent spike in new daily cases and a daily record for deaths reported Thursday, Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health, noted news relating to the wait for a COVID-19 vaccine.
“As we wait for a vaccine, there’s one thing we can do. We can get an immunization that already exists: the flu vaccine. Protecting ourselves against the flu is more important than ever. An influenza outbreak on top of the COVID-19 pandemic could be disastrous this fall and winter. The health care systems upon which Kentuckians rely could be overwhelmed by what some say is a looming ‘twindemic.’”
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