The surge in COVID-19 cases, possibly due to people gathering for Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations, has resulted in 117 of Kentucky’s 120 counties being deemed “red zones,” indicating a “critical” spread of the virus, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
The threshold for being considered a “red” county is having 25 cases per day per 100,000 residents, over a seven day period.
Grayson County, over the last week, has had 52.4 cases of the virus confirmed per day per 100,000 residents, and is surrounded by counties experiencing similar if not more dire surges:
Ohio County — 107.2 cases per 100,000 residents: Butler — 75.4; Hardin — 67.5; Breckinridge — 62.8; and Edmonson — 58.8. The remaining bordering county, Hart County, has recorded 44.3 cases of the virus per day per 100,000 residents.
Nearby counties suffering widespread infections over the last week include: Hancock — 134.3; Warren — 98.1; McLean — 96.2; Daviess — 91.3; Muhlenberg — 85.8; and Hopkins — 83.4.
Between Monday and Thursday, Grayson County had 63 coronavirus cases confirmed, giving the county 322 COVID-19 cases diagnosed over the last 26 days, 12.4 per day. Since the onset of the pandemic, Grayson County has had 1,418 cases of the virus diagnosed.
Death toll in nearby counties
Grayson County, as of Thursday and according to the Grayson County Health Department (GCHD), has had 40 deaths blamed on the virus. Three previous deaths remain under review by state health officials, according to the GCHD.
Nearby and bordering counties’ coronavirus death tolls:
Hopkins – 90; Warren – 84; Daviess – 76; Hardin – 44; Muhlenberg 30; Ohio – 27; McLean – 20; Butler – 16; Edmonson – 13; Hancock – 11; Hart – 9; and Breckinridge – 5.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Thursday and Friday, the U.S. experienced the two most deadly days since the beginning of the pandemic, as over 8,000 deaths were reported. The U.S. death toll blamed on the virus currently stands at 364,029, with over 21.5 million infections.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
