Less cases this week in four counties

By TONY FYFFE

BSN Editor

The number of new COVID-19 cases dropped by more than 300 cases in Lawrence, Johnson, Floyd and Martin counties.

A total of 1,184 new cases were reported in the four counties between Tuesday, Feb. 8, and Feb. 14, compared to 1,509 cases during the previous seven-day period.

New cases included 179 in Lawrence County, 156 in Johnson County, 704 in Floyd County and 145 in Martin County.

Active cases totaled 1,625 on Monday, including 32 in Lawrence County, 500 in Johnson County, 927 in Floyd County and 166 in Martin County.

Two additional coronavirus-related deaths were reported, including one in Lawrence County on Monday and one in Johnson County on Feb. 9, bringing their totals to 62 and 79, respectively.

Total cases since the pandemic began in March 2020 are 4,322 in Lawrence County, 6,292 in Johnson County, 11,815 in Floyd County and 3,336 in Martin County.

All four counties remained in the red zone on Monday with incidence rates of 137.1 in Lawrence, 65 in Johnson, 181.4 in Floyd and 153.1 in Martin.

A total of 116 Kentucky counties were in the red Monday, but Gov. Andy Beshear said that if weekly COVID-19 cases and positivity cases continue to drop, the state will likely move out of the red zone and into the orange or yellow by March 14.

“The topline message is that cases continue to fall,” Beshear said Monday. “We’re still seeing significant numbers of deaths, but cases continue to fall, and the trajectory is exactly what we want to see.”