As of 4 p.m. Sept. 3, Gov. Beshear reported that the number of positive coronavirus cases has now surpassed 50,000, with at least 50,885 cases in Kentucky, 906 of which were newly reported Thursday. One hundred twenty-four of the newly reported cases were from children ages 18 and younger, of which 17 were children ages 5 and under. The youngest was a two-month-old baby from Henderson County.
“COVID is a once-in-100-year pandemic and we’ve got to take it seriously. We’re seeing a rough week this week,” said Gov. Beshear. “While our positivity rate is going down, we’re still seeing some high numbers. Today we’re reporting 906 new cases of COVID-19. That’s our third-highest total since the very beginning.”
Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported 10 new deaths Thursday, raising the total to 976 Kentuckians lost to the virus.
The deaths reported Thursday include a 52-year-old man from Barren County; five women, ages 60, 72, 72, 79 and 85, and two men, ages 70 and 73, from Jefferson County; and an 88-year-old woman and 76-year-old man from Lewis County.
“We have people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s on today’s report,” said Gov. Beshear. “These families don’t have the option of being tired. We can’t be tired either. We’ve got to be there for them.”
As of Thursday, there have been at least 902,446 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 4.53%. At least 10,547 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here. To see all recent daily reports, click here.
Information about COVID-19 and schools is also being made available. To view the reports, click here for K-12 and here for colleges and universities.
Dr. Stack Update
Today, Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH), offered an update on the expected timeline for COVID-19 vaccinations.
“KDPH, with Kentucky Emergency Management and local health departments, is working to create our plans in partnership with the federal government, as well as state and local governments, so that when a safe and reliable vaccine is available we can deploy that in a timely manner to everyone who is eligible for it,” said Dr. Stack. “But, I’ve said this repeatedly and I’ll say it again, there will not be a vaccine for virtually everybody this calendar year. There are some corners that cannot be cut.”
He also addressed newer testing methods, explaining, “There’s been a lot of discussion about different types of tests, trying to get more rapid tests, and there’s some exciting science and possibilities in this. But they are not a panacea. They can be useful tools.”