Kentucky’s COVID hospitalizations at lowest level since December

FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX19) - Fewer Kentuckians are hospitalized with COVID-19 than at any time since the beginning of the year.

Currently 1,561 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Kentucky. It’s the smallest current count since Dec. 28, when the state recorded 1,552 hospitalizations.

Hospitalizations have been trending down in Kentucky for weeks following the state’s holiday and post-holiday case surges. They started the year in the mid-1600′s before cresting at 1,778, the highest-ever figure, on Jan. 6.

With the case surges now in the rearview, hospitalizations, often a lagging indicator of the virus in a state, appear to be following suit.

Of those hospitalized, 387 are in ICUs and 195 are on ventilators.

Kentucky recorded 2,756 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Friday and 36 deaths.

“Folks, there’s a pretty simple reason why I think our cases are declining, and that’s that I see you all doing the hard work,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “I see people wearing masks now more than ever and engaging in social distancing when they can. Keep it up. We are going to beat this virus in 2021. We’ve just got to protect everyone until we get there.”

The rolling seven-day positivity rate is 10.80 percent, down 0.25 points from Thursday after a 0.24 point drop the day before. The rate has come in below 12 percent each day the last week.

Gov. Beshear and First Lady Britainy Beshear joined Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman for a memorial flag ceremony on the Kentucky Capitol grounds Friday to commemorate the more than 3,300 Kentuckians who have died from complications due to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Every flag you see represents a real Kentuckian, one who was and is loved by their families and friends, who meant something to the communities in which they lived,” Beshear said. “Each and every loss is singular and heartbreaking.”

More: Gov. Beshear Marks Loss of More Than 3,300 Kentuckians to COVID-19

(Kentucky’s vaccine numbers are not updated from Thursday. Below is Thursday’s update.)

Kentucky has received 450,175 total vaccine doses, an increase of 5,850 from Wednesday.

Of the total doses received, 117,975 have been diverted to the long-term care facility program per a federal contract. This includes both first and second doses, explaining why fewer of these have been administered compared to the state allocation.

Of these doses, 41,788 have been administered, an increase of 2,427 since Wednesday.

He also said all K-12 educators, at both public and private schools, are on track to receive their first shots the first week of February.

Of the 332,200 doses received by the state, 209,079 have been administered, an increase of 16,307 since Wednesday.

A total of 250,867 doses have been administered in the state.

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