LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- State health officials confirmed 979 new COVID-19 cases in Kentucky on Sunday, setting a new record for the most cases reported in a single day, according to a news release from Gov. Andy Beshear's office.
"This ought to be a wake-up call for everybody," the governor said in a statement. "This is a rough day for the commonwealth."
According to Beshear, 30 children under 5 years old who tested positive for COVID-19 were included in Sunday's report, which brings Kentucky to at least 23,161 confirmed cases of the respiratory disease since the pandemic began.
"We typically have limited reporting on Sunday which makes today’s record-setting number of positives particularly alarming," said Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky's public health commissioner, in a statement. "In the interest of accuracy, we are going to reach out and confirm results with some of the major labs. Even so, this surge in positive cases is a shocking wake-up call. Kentucky has flattened the curve before and it must act immediately and decisively to flatten it again. Please, wear your mask and socially distance."
According to a report from Kentucky Public Health, 208 of the new cases are from Jefferson County, which is up to at least 5,170 total cases. Oldham County reported the second-most cases Sunday with 96, followed by Warren County with 74, Kenton County with 72 and Fayette County with 49.
Three more Kentuckians have died after contracting COVID-19, according to Beshear. The victims were a 67-year-old woman from Clark County, a 74-year-old woman from Jefferson County and a 58-year-old man from Oldham County.
"All far too young," the governor said in a statement. The state's virus-related death toll has risen to 670 as of Sunday.
Sunday's report tops a previous single-day high of 625 cases from May 5, although that figure included more than 300 cases from the Green River Correctional Complex.
The state reported its second-highest single-day total of new cases, 583, on Saturday.
"We have got to defeat this virus. We are at war and we are in the trenches," Beshear said in a statement. "I have faith and I have trust in the people of Kentucky. But today and in the days ahead we’ve got to do a whole lot better. We’re going to have to take some more action."
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