LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Health officials confirmed 638 new COVID-19 cases in Kentucky on Saturday and six additional virus-related deaths, Gov. Andy Beshear announced in a news release.
Of the new infections, 17 were in children ages 5 and under, according to the governor's office.
Kentucky's positivity rate — a rolling figure reflecting the average number of tests coming back positive for COVID-19 — dropped from 5.68% on Friday to 5.45% on Saturday, according to a report from Kentucky Public Health. The White House recommends that rates should be below 5% before mitigation measures are relaxed.
In the news release, Beshear said Saturday's report "unfortunately suggests this is going to be the highest week of total cases that we’ve ever had, though our positivity rate is going down a little bit." Led by a single-day record of 1,163 new coronavirus cases reported Wednesday, Kentucky has reported more than 4,000 new cases of the respiratory disease between Monday and Saturday.
"This week outpaced the number of new cases last week and, if we become complacent, our hard-fought containment of the coronavirus could slip from our grasp," said Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky's public health commissioner, in the news release from the governor's office.
"Every person who avoids crowds, wears a face covering in public, maintains a social distance of at least 6 feet, and frequently washes their hands makes essential and invaluable contributions to our ability to fight this pandemic," Stack added. "If we all do these things consistently, we can suppress COVID-19 enough to more safely open schools and engage in many activities so important to our lives."
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer reported 232 new cases of COVID-19 in Jefferson County on Saturday during a livestream on his Facebook page. The county has reported at least 9,690 cases since March, and its positivity rate is currently 8.53%, Fischer said.
According to Kentucky Public Health, 618 Kentuckians are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, and 131 are being treated in intensive care units.
The six new deaths related to COVID-19 reported Saturday bring the state's death toll to 810 since March.
According to the governor's office, the six victims were: two men, ages 71 and 85, from Jefferson County; a 57-year-old woman from Jefferson County; a 74-year-old man from Graves County; a 72-year-old man from Nicholas County and an 89-year-old man from McCracken County.
As of Saturday, at least 9,091 of the state's 38,930 COVID-19 cases reported since March have recovered, according to Kentucky Public Health.
For most people, COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness and be fatal.
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