State’s COVID positivity rate up again, COVID struggle continues

Hospitalizations, other numbers also flattening

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – The state’s ongoing battle trying to get COVID under control continues with stops and starts, with the positivity rate fluctuating and case numbers and hospitalizations stuck.

In its daily report Friday (click here), the state announced a total of 2,966 newly reported cases of COVID-19 for Thursday, Nov. 11 and Friday, Nov. 12. Of the 1,296 new cases Friday, 417 were in people 18 and under. The state now has listed 759,935 cases.

The state also reported 111 new deaths from the two reports, including the loss of a Kentuckian only 32 years old. The state now has lost 10,214 people to COVID-related causes.

The state’s positivity rate is 5.53%, up from 5.34% Wednesday.

Other key numbers are down from two weeks ago, but many hospitals continue to report capacity strains and stress on staffing.

According to the daily report, 703 people are hospitalized with COVID-related causes. That’s up from 688 people Wednesday.

ICU admittances were at 193, up from 175 Wednesday and about the same as 196 Monday. A total of 102 people are on a ventilator, down from 112 Wednesday and 121 Monday.

The state’s total hospital inpatient bed use is at 69%, up from 67.1% Wednesday, but a small percentage of that is for COVID cases, according to the Friday report. The number of ICU beds in use is at 86.5%, down from 87.7% Wednesday but in all but two of the state’s 10 regions, the ICU capacity for COVID cases is below 20%. And 29.6%, down from 30.2% Wednesday, of the state’s ventilator capacity is in use with less than 10% of the capacity dedicated to COVID in nine of the state’s 10 medical regions.