Indicate the number of new COVID cases greater than 16,000, positivity 32.1%

Hospitalizations continue to rise, straining medical staff

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – The state’s daily COVID reports are starting to sound like a bad broken record…more bad news after bad news.

Friday was no different.

In the daily status update (Click here), Governor Andy Beshear (click for video) announced the highest COVID report since the start of the pandemic, with 16,130 new cases reported and a record positivity rate of 32.10%. The number of cases was up from 13,614 on Thursday and surpassed the previous two records of more than 14,000 cases.

The positivity rate was up 31.37% on Thursday and fell from just over 30% at the start of the week.

Of the new cases, 4,108 are in people 18 and under.

The new cases brought the state’s total since March 6, 2020 to 1,056,284. The 28 deaths reported Friday means the state has lost 12,687 residents to COVID-related causes.

The numbers put the state on track for a third straight record week of new cases. The state reported 72,165 new cases of COVID-19 in the week ending Jan. 16, the highest week ever. This new record exceeds the second highest week of nearly 20,000 cases (January 3-9: 52,603 ​​cases) and the third-highest week of nearly 40,000 cases (August 30-September 5: 30,680 case).

The governor also reported the highest average weekly positivity rate in the state, 29.33%, for the week ending Jan. 16. This is almost 4 percentage points higher than the second highest week (January 3-9: 25.84%); and 9 percentage points higher than the third highest week (December 27 to January 2: 20.38%). The highest weekly positivity rate during the delta variant surge was 13.88% the week ending September 12, 2021.

Other indicators also continue to climb. The number of people hospitalized rose to 2,347 from 2,298 on Thursday, 2,256 on Wednesday and 2,200 on Tuesday. On a positive note, the number of intensive care cases remained relatively stable at 439 compared to 434 on Thursday, 455 on Wednesday and 431 on Tuesday. The number of ventilator cases is a little more volatile at 268 on Friday, compared to 271 on Thursday, 252 on Wednesday and 244 on Tuesday.