Friday

As of 4 p.m. Oct. 9, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 78,456 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 1,059 of which were newly reported Friday. One hundred and fourteen of the newly reported cases were from children up to age 18, of which 23 were children 5 and under. The youngest was only 2 months old.

“These are just far too many cases. We have to do better. Folks, we really need you to wear your mask,” said Gov. Beshear. “We’ve talked a lot about enforcement this week, but the best enforcement is you, making sure that you and your family are wearing them every time you go out. If everybody takes on that enforcement, we will stop this third escalation.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported eight new deaths Friday, raising the total to 1,242 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Friday include a 90-year-old woman from Boyd County; a 73-year-old woman from Daviess County; a 76-year-old man from Harrison County; two women, ages 70 and 74, from Henderson County; an 87-year-old man from Jefferson County; a 48-year-old woman from Logan County; and a 54-year-old woman from McCracken County.

“We continue to see higher months of cases and higher months of deaths,” said Gov. Beshear. “We need your help. Be a good part of Team Kentucky.”

As of Friday, there have been at least 1,632,824 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate was 4.32%, and at least 13,417 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

Saturday

As of 3 p.m. Oct. 10, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 79,445 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 1,002 of which were newly reported Saturday. One hundred-eight of the newly reported cases were from children 18 and younger, of which 18 were children ages 5 and under. The youngest were three children, all of whom were 3 months old.

“It’s past time for us to get back to the behaviors that we know curb the spread of this virus,” added the Governor. “It’s time to buckle down and treat this thing like the deadly disease that it is.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported seven new deaths Saturday. The total number of Kentuckians now lost to the virus is 1,249.

“That’s seven additional families who are suffering during this time,” said Gov. Beshear.

The deaths reported Saturday include a 60-year-old man from Hancock County; an 87-year-old man from Carter County; a 58-year-old woman from Harlan County; a 93-year-old woman and an 89-year-old man Union County; a 91-year-old woman from Daviess County; and an 80-year-old man from Hardin County.

“We know 20 to 40% of people who contract COVID-19 might not even know they have it,” said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health. “This is a real danger with this virus since this large proportion of people without symptoms can be contagious and spread it to vulnerable people who get very sick.”

“It’s important for all Kentuckians in every community to understand this risk. If you are in a ‘green’ county on the map this week, you might be ‘yellow’ next week. This week’s ‘yellow’ could become next week’s ‘red.’ COVID-19 is no joke. Not only is it deadly, especially among older people and those with health conditions, but increasingly, there’s evidence of lingering effects including prolonged loss of smell, difficulty breathing, fatigue, ‘brain fog’ and other issues.

As of Saturday, at least 1,650,148 tests had been administered. The COVID-19 testing positive rate, based on a seven-day rolling average, taking into account total positive tests reported by laboratories divided by total tests reported by labs, stood at 4.16%. The number of Kentuckians who are known to have recovered was at least 13,539.

Sunday

As of 3 p.m. Oct. 11, Gov. Beshear announced at least 80,292 cases in the commonwealth, 852 of which were newly reported Sunday. Ninety of the newly reported cases were from children up to age 18, of which 23 were age 5 and under. The youngest was just 23 days old.

Kentucky recorded 7,675 new coronavirus cases this week, again marking the highest weekly toll of new cases. This week’s total is up by 1,549 cases over last week’s total, but it does include a backlog of cases from Fayette County that were reported Wednesday.

The Governor announced three more deaths on Sunday, bringing the death total to 1,252. The deaths reported included a 33-year-old man from Jefferson County; a 60-year-old man from Hopkins County; and a 70-year-old woman from Warren County.

“That’s three more families who are now grieving,” the Governor said.

Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of DPH, noted that congregate care settings continue to account for a large proportion of the COVID-19 deaths in Kentucky. Other settings, especially social gatherings and settings where people are in proximity to each other for extended periods of time, continue to give rise to clusters of cases.

Dr. Stack said: “With the disease so widespread in Kentucky now, the risk of all of us getting exposed is high if we don’t all do our part to socially distance, wear masks and practice good hand hygiene. I’ll add one other thing today – emotionally regulate yourself.

“By this, I mean it’s normal to miss the things we used to do with a lot of other people, like fall festivals, church services and sporting events. Acknowledge what you miss, then make a plan for what you can do,” he said. “Take a drive to view the colors of the changing leaves. Take a pumpkin walk around your neighborhood. Join a COVID-19 weight loss challenge. It’s OK to acknowledge that something’s been lost, but we don’t have to wallow in the moment. And, remind yourself that a vaccine is coming and there’s reason to be hopeful.”

Due to limited reporting on Sundays, some information will be delayed until Monday Afternoon.