BESHEAR: COVID cases continue to decline; some Ky. areas in the green

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - During his weekly COVID update on Monday, Governor Beshear said Kentucky continues to see a decline in case numbers.

Two weeks ago, the state’s weekly case numbers totaled at 13,305 with a COVID positivity rate of 9.10 percent. Last week there were a total 12,010 cases with a positivity rate of 6.04 percent.

Beshear said positivity rates, along with all other metrics for COVID including hospitalizations are continuing to decline at a steady weekly rate.

“In the last seven days, we declined by 20 plus percent in hospitalizations due to COVID,” Beshear said.

Around 388 National Guard members are still assisting in hospitals but Beshear said that mission will end on March 15.

Last week, Beshear said Kentucky is still on track to release new COVID-19 guidance around March 14 as positivity rate and cases go down. He also said the Kentucky Department of Public Health took new CDC recommendations for transmission prevention into consideration for locally-created guidance.

A map showing the severity of the virus within the state is now online. Beshear happily shared that some areas of Kentucky are now finally in the green.

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However, Dr. Steven Stack, with the Kentucky Department of Public Health issued a statement of caution.

“It feels a lot like last summer,” he said. “I think the COVID pandemic has shown us that it’s not done with us yet in some ways. Last summer, we got to a nice, calm spot like we were heading back to normal life. It feels very much like that now as spring dawns and we start to have some of the warmer weather. Our actions still matter. Being kind and caring for each other still makes a big difference. Supporting those people who still feel the need to wear masks and who follow the guidance that encourages all people to wear masks regardless of vaccination status or health status when you’re in a red county. Folks, these are simple steps we can all take at little to no cost or inconvenience to ourselves to support each other. I’ll say at least again as we’ve said for a long time now, if you’re not vaccinated, I hope you’ll be open to that. We still report deaths on a regular basis of very young people who had no other reason to die at such a young age other than COVID. It may be infrequent, but it is certainly very tragic when it occurs. This is largely a vaccine preventable death and severe illness situation and I hope folks will continue to become more receptive to becoming vaccinated.”

The federal government recently announced people can order an additional four free at home COVID tests at no charge.

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