For the first time in a month, Kentucky reported a drop in new COVID-19 cases last week, likely signaling a leveling off in the state's worst infection surge to date, Gov. Andy Beshear said on Monday.
The statewide rate of people testing positive, a leading indicator of spread, is also steadily dropping; by Monday, it was at 28.49%, down from 30.5% on Friday and 33.06% a week ago.
"What we hope we are seeing is a cresting and hopefully the beginning of a downward slope in omicron cases," the governor said in a Monday afternoon news conference.
But he said that good news should be tempered: though last week brought fewer cases — 74,376 compared to 81,473 the week before — it was "still the second-highest amount of cases we've ever had," bringing more than double the number of cases reported during the delta surge.
"That trajectory is a good sign," Beshear said, but "we're not out of the woods."
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is still hovering near the record set during the delta surge last summer. And unlike weekly case amounts and the positivity rate, that patient load has yet to recede, Beshear said.
A little more than 55% of Kentuckians (65% of adults) are fully vaccinated, and 23% of the population (29% of adults) have received a booster dose, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health. Over the weekend, Beshear said, 5,899 people got a first dose, roughly 5,500 got a second, and 12,899 people received a booster.
