LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As everyone is getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday, Gov. Andy Beshear said case numbers are on the rise.
In the last three days, the Commonwealth has hit the highest pandemic numbers its seen in the last four weeks.
It wasn’t the kind of news Governor Beshear wanted to share the week of Thanksgiving but said there was a silver lining.
“This is the first time, first holiday – Thanksgiving, since the pandemic hit you all have the tools in front of you to have a pretty normal and safe Thanksgiving,” he said.
Here are the numbers from the weekend:
- Saturday – 2,048 new cases, 42 deaths
- Sunday – 1,018 new cases, 15 deaths
- Monday – 822 new cases, 44 deaths
The positivity rate currently stands at 6.56% up 1.5 points in three weeks, Beshear said.
He also shared good news on hospitals. Beshear said there are now only 29 hospitals statewide with a critical staffing shortage. He said the state is keeping a close eye on testing and case trends once the holiday comes to an end.
"Hospitalizations and requests for monoclonal antibody infusions are ticking up,” said Gov. Beshear. “We do not want to see that. We need to be really careful with Thanksgiving this week, as well as Christmas coming up. But unlike last year, there is an opportunity for this holiday season to be safe and pretty normal for you and your family if you follow the precautions you need to.”
The governor is asking everyone to be safe this Thanksgiving and shared tips Kentuckians should follow including:
- Getting vaccinated
- Getting your booster
- Not attending a gathering if you feel sick
- Wearing masks if indoors and unvaccinated and/or not boosted
- Keeping attendance numbers low
Vaccinations continue to make progress in the Commonwealth. More than 19,500 people received at least one shot of the vaccine this past weekend.
The response has also been good with the 5 to 11-year-old demographic, according to Beshear. So far, about 8 percent of those young Kentuckians have received at least one shot.
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