Seven-day averages of new virus cases and covid-19 deaths in Kentucky reach new highs; Kavanaugh considers schools case

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

The pandemic set no daily records in Kentucky Friday, but the seven-day rolling averages of new coronavirus cases and covid-19 deaths hit new highs.

The state reported 3,614 new cases, raising its seven-day average to 3,232, beating the previous record of 3,119 set on Thanksgiving day, Nov. 26.

It confirmed another 25 deaths from covid-19, making a total of 2,039. The seven-day average of deaths is 24; the 14-day average is 19.8.

The averages are the best rough measurements of the pandemic, since they smooth out daily fluctuations, which can be large, especially on weekends.

The stabler numbers come from hospitals. Kentucky hospitals reported 1,792 covid-19 patients Friday, 18 fewer than the record set Thursday. Intensive-care units had 409 of those patients, 230 of whom were on ventilators.

As usual for a Friday, Gov. Andy Beshear didn't hold a briefing but issued a press release, encouraging Kentuckians to stay on guard as the first vaccinations, of frontline health workers and nursing-home residents and staff, approach.

“These vaccines are right around the corner. Within the next 10 days or so we might be giving out the first vaccines,” Beshear said in the release. “That means every loss of life and every extra infection that happens between now and then is entirely avoidable. So let’s fight harder than we ever have.”

For the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging “universal mask use” anywhere outside the home. The CDC has long encouraged indoor masking when with people outside the household; in its latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC said the virus has entered “a phase of high-level transmission” and “consistent and correct” use of masks is essential. It recommended masking at home when a household member has been infected or potentially exposed to the virus.

Beshear's legal staff was busy Friday, responding to efforts to keep his ban on in-person schooling from applying to religious schools. They filed a brief with Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who may decide the issue this weekend.

Kavanaugh is the justice who hears emergency appeals from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Last weekend, three judges on that court threw out a district judge's injunction that would have allowed religious schools to reopen. Kavanaugh could stay the appeals-court order, pending review by the full Supreme Court, or kick the decision to the full court.

The case was brought by Danville Christian Academy and Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul joined 36 other Republican senators in filing a brief with the court supporting the position of the school and Cameron, a McConnell protege.

The 25 covid-19 deaths confirmed Friday were a 76-year-old Boone County man; a 69-year-old Caldwell County woman; an 84-year-old Christian County woman; a 70-year-old Crittenden County woman; a 70-year-old Elliott County man; a 74-year-old Franklin County man; a 72-year-old woman and two men, 74 and 87 from Greenup County; an 87-year-old Hopkins County man; two men, 67 and 71, from Jefferson County; two women, 40 and 64, and a man, 99, from Johnson County; a 55-year-old Lawrence County man; an 82-year-old Lewis County man; a woman, 73, and a man, 81, from Madison County; a 94-year-old Marion County man; a 97-year-old Marshall County woman; a 91-year-old Martin County woman; an 83-year-old McCracken County woman; a 77-year-old Monroe County woman; and an 85-year-old Muhlenberg County woman.

Counties with more than 10 new cases Friday were Jefferson, 576; Fayette, 351; Boone, 118; Kenton, 108; Warren, 102; Daviess, 100; Boyd, 86; Hardin, 68; Madison, 67; Boyle, 54; Oldham, 54; Bullitt, 53; Laurel, 51; McCracken, Pike and Pulaski, 50; Campbell, 48; Ohio, 46; Henderson, 45; Franklin, 42; Knox, 40; Christian, Graves and Hopkins, 39; Marion and Whitley, 38; Clark, Jessamine and Washington, 37; Scott, 35; Taylor, 34; Bell, Calloway Greenup and Shelby, 28; Marshall, 27; Johnson, 26; Caldwell, Hart and Simpson, 25; Lewis and Nelson, 24; Barren and Metcalfe, 23; Bath and Woodford, 22; Clay and Floyd, 21; Allen and Muhlenberg, 20; Anderson, 19; Bourbon and Letcher, 18; Pendleton, 17; Lawrence and Perry, 16; Adair, Lincoln and Mason, 15; Grant, Grayson, Green, Henry, Logan and Spencer, 14; Garrard, Harlan, Montgomery, Owen and Rockcastle, 13; and Bracken, 12.

In other coronavirus news Friday:

• The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the last seven days is 9.93 percent, a drop of 0.14 points from the record percentage set Wednesday.
• Congressional leaders reported progress in talks on a relief bill. "Compromise is within reach," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
• "Health-care advocates are raising concerns about logistical and ethical challenges that could complicate" coronavirus vaccinations of nursing-home residents and staff, report Christopher Rowland and Will Englund of The Washington Post.
• "Americans’ compliance with social distancing recommendations sank to new lows in October, according to a study that also documents a notable rise in risky behavior," reports Antonia Farzan of The Washington Post. "The Covid States Project, a coalition of researchers from Harvard, Rutgers, Northeastern and Northwestern universities, has surveyed more than 15,000 people each month between April and November . . . Their findings back the anecdotal observations of public-health experts who suggested that the dramatic surge in coronavirus infections that began in October was preceded by 'pandemic fatigue' and people letting their guard down."
• This fall, Kentucky ranked 16th in social distancing and 32nd in mask wearing; there was more difference among the states on distancing than masking.

Kentucky Health News added to the map specific percentages for Kentucky, bordering states and states often visited by Kentuckians.