Saturday COVID-19 case update for Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. – As of 3 p.m. Oct. 10, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 79,445 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 1,002 of which were newly reported Saturday. One hundred-eight of the newly reported cases were from children 18 and younger, of which 18 were children ages 5 and under. The youngest were three children, all of whom were 3 months old.

Seven new deaths were reported Saturday. The total number of Kentuckians now lost to the virus is 1,249.

The deaths reported Saturday include a 60-year-old man from Hancock County; an 87-year-old man from Carter County; a 58-year-old woman from Harlan County; a 93-year-old woman and an 89-year-old man Union County; a 91-year-old woman from Daviess County; and an 80-year-old man from Hardin County.

“We know 20 to 40% of people who contract COVID-19 might not even know they have it,” said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health. “This is a real danger with this virus since this large proportion of people without symptoms can be contagious and spread it to vulnerable people who get very sick.”

“It’s important for all Kentuckians in every community to understand this risk. If you are in a ‘green’ county on the map this week, you might be ‘yellow’ next week. This week’s ‘yellow’ could become next week’s ‘red.’ COVID-19 is no joke. Not only is it deadly, especially among older people and those with health conditions, but increasingly, there’s evidence of lingering effects including prolonged loss of smell, difficulty breathing, fatigue, ‘brain fog’ and other issues.

As of Saturday, at least 1,650,148 tests had been administered. The COVID-19 testing positive rate, based on a seven-day rolling average, taking into account total positive tests reported by laboratories divided by total tests reported by labs, stood at 4.16%. The number of Kentuckians who are known to have recovered was at least 13,539.