Gov. Beshear urges caution as COVID cases begin to escalate again in Kentucky

KENTUCKY (WFIE) - Governor Andy Beshear is warning the commonwealth about the rise in COVID-19 cases in Kentucky. After a lapse in spiking cases for about a month, they are on the rise again.

Big sections of the commonwealth are currently listed as red zones on the COVID-19 metrics map, when not too long ago it was mostly in the yellow. All of the counties in our area are now in the red.

Kentucky’s positivity rate is now above 17%, which has been a steady climb over the last few months. However, Beshear says hospitalizations haven’t been spiking. People seem to be getting less sick from this variant this time around, and hospitals seem to have a better handle.

Beshear says the big problem is the escalation of cases.

“We do now see an escalation week over week,” Gov. Beshear said. “Listen, COVID is spreading. It’s spreading a lot faster than it was last month, and a lot of people are getting it.”

Beshear is especially encouraging those 65 and older to get their vaccines because that’s the age group that health officials are seeing most of the cases pop up.

This comes as the school year is right around the corner. Officials from both Daviess County and Owensboro Public Schools say there aren’t any specific protocols in place yet.

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