CDC lists only six Ky. counties – Harrison, Robertson, Clay, Knox, Laurel and Whitley – as those where masks might be needed

National Geographic map, adapted by Kentucky Health News; to enlarge, click on it.

The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention map of risk posed by the coronavirus has every county at low risk except Harrison, Robertson, Clay, Knox, Laurel and Whitley. In those counties, residents who are immuno-compromised or at high risk for severe illness should talk to a health-care provider about "additional precautions, such as wearing masks or respirators indoors in public. If you live with or have social contact with someone at high risk for severe illness, consider testing yourself for infection before you get together and wearing a mask when indoors with them," the CDC says.

The ratings are based on new coronavirus cases, Covid-19 hospitalizations and the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by Covid patients. Kentucky remains one of the higher-risk states, according to the CDC's national map. Its rate of new cases over the last two weeks is third among the states, behind Alaska and Vermont and virtually tied with Colorado, according to The New York Times.

Here's a series of maps from National Geographic showing the progress of the pandemic in the nation since last June, when the highly contagious Omicron variant began to take hold (click on it to enlarge):