Kentucky’s COVID numbers are in a nearly vertical spike with roughly 95% of all cases being the Omicron variant. Governor Andy Beshear reported Monday that one in four COVID tests are coming back positive, and our positivity rate hit an all-time high of 26.33%. Last week, there were 52,603 new cases which is also a new record by more than 20,000.
Beshear has deployed the National Guard to assist with hospitals that are again strained because of rising COVID cases and dwindling staff. He says that while Omicron may be less severe when contracted as opposed to Delta, it is so contagious that it could still create the impact on hospitalizations and deaths that the state saw during the fall surge.
The Governor and Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack say vaccinations, boosters and masks remain your best line of defense. They report that most patients hospitalized with COVID and nearly all deaths from the virus are unvaccinated.