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
Governor: Weekly COVID-19 cases decline in Kentucky
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0524ecb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/640x481+0+0/resize/880x661!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb5%2F85%2Fcd5bce734dbbbe0aea7e9a12fea8%2Fbeshear-team-ky.jpg)
Karyn Czar