LOUISVILLE, Ky. — COVID-19 continues to spread across Kentucky and the transmission of the disease is running rampant again.
As of July 29, all of Kentucky's counties are now reporting medium to high community spread of the virus. No area in the state has low transmission levels.
University of Louisville Health officials say there are 61 patients with COVID across all six of UofL Health Hospitals, which is up from last week's numbers.
Eight of those patients are in the Intensive Care Unit and four are on ventilators.
Last week last Friday UofL Health reported 56 patients with COVID across their six hospitals.
Dr. Mark Burns, a UofL Health assistant professor of medicine specializing in infectious diseases, says the stark rise in cases is likely due to how contagious the latest BA.5 variant is.
"The raw numbers that are out across the state are probably lower than what it actually is thanks to our home tests that don't get reported," he said.
Burns says that he recommends everyone should wear a mask when indoors or when around a lot of people and stay up to date on the latest vaccinations.
"I do believe that wearing masks, being in good ventilated areas, and also utilizing the routine public health mitigating measures, like social distancing, washing hands, those kind of things, I believe that's what it's going to take to get this under control," Burns said.
How you can protect yourself:
- Stay up to date with vaccinations.
- Consider wearing a well-fitting mask in indoor public settings, especially in schools.
- Stay home when sick.
- Follow isolation and quarantine guidance, including getting tested if exposed or have symptoms of COVID-19.
- If your county is in the high alert level, limit in-person gatherings and reduce the size of gatherings. Encourage physical distancing.
- Consider avoiding non-essential indoor public activities.
- Talk to a healthcare provider about preventative treatments.
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