CDC recommends masking in this Eastern Kentucky county. State reports 1,300+ new cases

Aaron Mudd
Updated ·2 min read
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While levels of COVID-19 are low across the majority of the state, the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a spike in one Eastern Kentucky county.

Kentucky added 1,337 new COVID-19 cases over the course of the last reporting week, between April 6 and 13. That’s fewer than the roughly 1,500 cases reported the week before. At that time, zero Kentucky counties reported elevated community levels of COVID-19.

COVID-19 community levels, updated each Thursday by the CDC, are based on weekly totals of new infections and hospital admissions, along with weekly averages of COVID-occupied hospital beds.

Kentucky also saw slightly fewer virus-related deaths, with the CDC reporting Thursday a total of 55 new deaths in the past week. That’s a dip from the 57 deaths the state saw the week before. Kentucky has an overall COVID-19 death toll of more than 18,000.

Here’s the latest on where Kentucky stands with the coronavirus pandemic, including where vulnerable populations should consider masking in public, per CDC guidance.

COVID cases in Kentucky: What the latest CDC data tell us

As of April 13, Letcher County in Eastern Kentucky had jumped from a low to a high COVID-19 community level.

The latest COVID-19 community levels from the CDC, as of April 13, 2023.
The latest COVID-19 community levels from the CDC, as of April 13, 2023.

At that level, the CDC urges reinstating mask-wearing for individuals indoors in public, regardless of the person’s vaccination status and to consider avoiding non-essential indoor activities.

The latest data from the CDC shows that Bath and Montgomery counties have moved out of medium community levels of COVID-19 into low.

In March, the state began reporting COVID data through an interactive dashboard which does not include some previously reported metrics. State officials announced earlier this year they would cease some reporting measures ahead of the end of the national public health emergency in May.

COVID-19 in Lexington

Fayette County remains at a low community level of COVID-19. It reports a case rate of 29.09 cases per 100,000 people and 94 total active cases.

Between April 1 and 7 — the most recent data available from the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department — the public health agency reported 148 new COVID-19 cases compared to 120 cases and one death the prior week. No new deaths were reported between April 1 and 7.

The CDC says those who have not received a vaccine since before September 2022 should get boosted. To find a free shot near you, visit vaccines.gov.