By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today

The latest weekly COVID-19 report the Kentucky Department for Public Health is a mixed bag, with some metrics showing increases, while others saw drops.

A total of 3,392 new cases were reported to state public health officials for the week ending Sunday, October 9. That compares to 3,979 cases last week, and 7,402 the week before. This brings the number of confirmed cases in Kentucky to 1,595,309, since the first one was reported on March 6, 2020, in Harrison County.

Five counties each reported each reported 100 or more new cases this past week. Jefferson had 612, Fayette 190, Kenton 151, Boone 121, and Hardin 102. The October 3 report had only three counties with over 100 cases, while there were six the week before that.

It should be noted, however, that the number of positive cases is likely undercounted, as many people who test positive while taking a home test do not report it to state public health officials, if they do not require medical treatment or were asymptomatic.

The number of deaths on the Oct. 10 report stood at 81, which breaks a recent weekly string of declines. Last week there were 61 COVID-related deaths, with 67 two weeks ago, and 80 the week before that. Kentucky has now had 17,111 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The hospital census is another area experiencing mixed results. There are currently 287 people hospitalized with COVID in Kentucky, a drop of 40 compared to the previous week. Of them, 46 are in intensive case, up from 39 last week, and 13 are on a ventilator, which is a decrease of seven from the October 3 report. The report two weeks ago had 398 hospitalized, 62 in the ICU and 24 on a ventilator.

The state’s positivity rate, which measures the number of cases from all tests performed except those from home-testing kits, broke a month-long string of decreases, as it rose to 7.91%. Last week it was 7.70%. Still, the current 7.91% is similar to numbers found back in May.

It’s too early to say if this week’s increases are the start of a new upward trend, or merely a one-week statistical blip.

For more details on Kentucky’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, community levels and more, go to the state’s website at kycovid19.ky.gov.