FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 10, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Saturday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).
“The number of positive cases is increasing at a troubling pace. We’ve had multiple week-over-week increases and we are at an all-time high here in Kentucky,” said Gov. Beshear. “Don’t fool around with this virus. Take steps to protect your health and the health of others: stay at least six feet from other people, wear a mask and wash your hands often.”
Case Information
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.
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.
Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Kentuckians can also access translated COVID-19 information and daily summaries of the Governor’s news conference at teamkentuckytranslations.com.
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