Governor: Weekly COVID-19 cases decline in Kentucky

WUKY | By Karyn Czar,

Associated Press

Published February 1, 2022 at 10:31 AM EST

Gov. Andy Beshear says Kentucky posted a decline in new COVID-19 cases last week. He said Monday it's an early sign that the state’s worst surge of the pandemic could be cresting. Karyn Czar has more on the story.

Beshear says statewide COVID-19 cases totaled 74,376 last week, compared with 81,473 the prior week. That ended a string of weekly increases fueled by the fast-spreading omicron variant. But the governor offered a cautionary update. He says coronavirus-related hospitalizations are close to the highest statewide level of the pandemic. And he says the state’s virus-related death toll continues to mount and could surpass 13,000 this week