On Monday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reported that the state had surpassed 10,000 COVID-19 deaths. He said it was the third leading cause of death last year and so far this year.
A COVID-19 memorial will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14 outside at the State Capitol.
Beshear also reported Monday that state’s increase of positivity may signal that cases are plateauing.
“Because if we plateau here, we really are higher than we should be,” he said.
Kentucky’s positivity rate is 5.44%. Beshear added that deaths, that could be avoided, could continue if cases plateau instead of declining.
To keep cases trending down, Beshear said more people need to get vaccinated and those who are eligible should get boosters.
“And if we don’t do them both, well, we’re vulnerable at different ends,” he said. “I am concerned though, that many school districts are going mask optional — before we are out of the orange or sometimes even in the red.”
Beshear said ICU bed capacity has decreased because there are fewer COVID-19 patients. Although hospital admissions are down, most of the state’s hospital ICUs are at 80 to 100% capacity.
Kids ages 5 to 11 may now schedule vaccine appointments. Beshear said those slots are filling up quickly.
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