Kentucky crosses 60,000 COVID-19 cases, positivity rate drops to 3.6 percent

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WYMT) - Governor Andy Beshear updated the status of COVID-19 in Kentucky.

The governor announced 777 new cases and eight new deaths in Kentucky on Friday.

The state crossed the 60,000 case mark on Friday, with a new case total of 60,128. 97 of the new cases Friday were children aged eight or younger. Eight deaths also brings the state above 1,100 deaths, with a death toll of 1,101.

“This is tough news today,” said Gov. Beshear. “It only took 10 days for us to go from 1,000 deaths to over 1,100. This is why we’re working so hard to keep our case numbers down.”

At the same time, the state’s positivity rate dropped to 3.6 percent.

“Our positivity rate has now dropped to 3.6%; that is our lowest rate in months,” said Gov. Beshear. “When we asked for people to push off in-person classes in our schools until Sept. 28, it was so we could get our positivity rate down to a safer level.”

11,168 people have recovered from the virus.

1,115,105 Kentuckians have received tests thus far.

WYMT independently confirms all of Southeastern Kentucky’s positive COVID-19 cases, along with any coronavirus-related deaths, with local health departments before publishing any details.

If you have any questions about the coronavirus in Kentucky, call the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-722-5725.

You can also find more information, including how to protect your family, by visiting Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website here.