220 new COVID-19 cases, 7 more deaths reported
By TOM LATEK, Kentucky Today
FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) — Gov. Andy Beshear announced on Wednesday 220 new case of the coronavirus were reported to state public health officials in Kentucky, along with seven more deaths.
The new cases bring the state’s total to at least 15,842.
“We’ve got to keep these case numbers under control,” Beshear said in his daily update. “We’re doing a good job, but we’ve got to work even harder. We can’t let our guard down when an invisible enemy is still out there.”
The seven new deaths announced on Wednesday, have raised the total of Kentuckians lost to the virus to 572.
The deaths include an 89-year-old woman from Fayette County; an 88-year-old man from Jackson County; a 63-year-old woman and 86- and 97-year-old men from Jefferson County; a 54-year-old man from Oldham County; and a 94-year-old woman from Shelby County.
“Each one of these folks was special. Each one of them won’t get to see their friends, their neighbors, their kids and grandkids anymore,” said Gov. Beshear. “We cannot let this become the new normal. I’m heartbroken for these families.”
There have been over 400,000 coronavirus tests performed in the state, and at least 4,052 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
While there have been several spikes since the first positive case was reported on March 6, including Wednesday’s 220 new cases, the seven- day average of new cases has never gone above 200.
Arizona is one of several states that have seen a huge jump in cases recently. According to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services, they reported nearly 4,878 new cases on Wednesday and 88 new deaths. That makes their pandemic total 84,092 cases and 1,720 deaths.
As a comparison of cases versus the number of residents, in 2019, the population of Arizona was 7.279 million, while Kentucky’s stood at 4.468 million.
“Kentuckians have risen to the challenge as heroes in this test of a lifetime,” Beshear said. “You continue to put others first, even if it means a little inconvenience and discomfort. And as we’ve seen from other states experiencing spikes in cases right now, rising to the challenge is our only option. We simply cannot overwhelm our hospital system and risk the lives of our frontline health care professionals who have already sacrificed so much.”
You can find other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration on the response to the coronavirus pandemic and reopenings at kycovid19.ky.gov.
