LOUISVILLE, Ky. — We want to give you more than just the numbers. Instead, we want to provide information you understand and can use to help make decisions for your family. We will be doing this through "data deep dives" on WHAS11.
Breaking down hospitalization rates has become a key indicator of what COVID-19 looks like in our communities because the numbers aren't dependent on testing. As we continue to ramp up testing, we're going to see the number of new cases continue to grow, including asymptomatic cases. The hospitalization data gives us a clear idea of who is seriously sick and if that number is going up or down.
Less than 30% of the Kentuckians who have tested positive for COVID-19 have been admitted to a hospital. Only about 11% have gone into the ICU.
This graph is showing hospitalizations rates in blue and ICU rates in orange for the last two weeks. Kentucky hit a bit of a peak at the end of last week with almost 400 people in the hospital on Saturday and 226 people in the ICU.
Since then, the numbers have started to go down, including a decrease from Tuesday to Wednesday with two people discharged from the hospital.
Note: the gaps are on Sundays when Governor Andy Beshear's office does not provide data.
The big headline in Indiana on hospitalization is the state has 220 fewer people in the hospital today than this time last week. The number of people in the ICU has gone down too but not as drastically. We used a one week graph instead of two weeks to show a steady declining trend- good news for the hard-hit Hoosier state.
With these numbers, Indiana's healthcare system is well under capacity. About 40% of the state's ICU beds and 80% of the state's ventilator stock are not currently in use.
►Contact reporter Shay McAlister at smcalister@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Shay) and Facebook.