By Ted Cox
tcox@garrardcentralrecord.com

(Lancaster, KY - March 17, 2021) - Garrard County’s COVID-19 total stood at 1,433 cases as of Tuesday afternoon, according to numbers released by the state. There were only 18 new cases reported in the last week, between Wed, March 10 and Tuesday, March 16.  

The state has reported 18 total patient deaths in Garrard County due to the virus since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Additionally, at the only long-term care facility in Garrard County, Landmark of Lancaster, there are currently three active cases of COVID-19 amongst patients and none among staff, according to numbers released by the state. 

Garrard has maintained a low enough incidence rate to stay out of the ‘red’ on the state’s incidence rate map for the past month. As of Tuesday afternoon, Garrard County had an incidence rate of 13.7 per 100,000 residents. That is up slightly from a rate of 11.3 per 100,000 residents at this time last week. 

Red zone counties are those with 25 or more average daily cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents. Garrard’s rate first began to exceed 25 per 100,000 on Nov. 14, 2020 and held at a rate that put the county in the ‘red’ zone throughout the worst of the pandemic, finally falling to ‘orange’ on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. The rate has remained at a rate between 10 and 25 per 100,000 residents since that time.

The current incidence rate of 13.7 is, however, is also the highest in the immediate region; with all neighboring counties aside from Rockcastle County reporting lower rates than Garrard. 

Rockcastle County’s rate is currently at 15.4 cases per 100,000 residents.

In other surrounding counties, Mercer County has reported a rate of 9.1, Boyle County has a rate of 10, Lincoln County has a rate of 6.4, Madison County has a rate of 10.8 and Jessamine County has a rate of 11.6.  

On Monday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced 99.7 percent of all first vaccine doses sent to Kentucky have been administered after another record-setting week.

Over the past week, more than 142,000 Kentuckians have received a COVID-19 vaccine.

“We believe that we are going to hit the president’s goal that every adult in Kentucky and across America who wants their shot of hope will be able to get it by the end of May,” Gov. Beshear said. “We’ve had nine straight weeks of declining cases and if we continue to see this trend, we can relax some of the restrictions even more. But we need to be careful and make sure we bring everybody to the finish line.”

Gov. Beshear, First Lady Britainy Beshear and Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack recognized the milestone of 1 million Kentuckians being vaccinated during a ceremony at the state Capitol. 

Team Kentucky Memorial Fund Opens

To help honor more than 5,000 Kentuckians lost to COVID-19 and the sacrifices of Kentuckians during the pandemic, Gov. Beshear launched the Team Kentucky COVID-19 Memorial Fund, which will help make a permanent memorial on Capitol grounds a reality.

“This fund will help us make sure no Kentuckian is ever forgotten,” Gov. Beshear said. “Kentuckians can dedicate a donation to someone they’ve lost or someone they want to honor. Soon we’ll announce an artist call to encourage artists to submit their ideas for something that can truly encapsulate the grief, hope, togetherness, difficulty – all of those things we have felt this past year. The sleepless nights, but also, the coming together.”

The Governor first announced plans for the memorial during a March 6 ceremony in Frankfort that honored the Kentuckians lost to COVID-19 since the first case was confirmed in the commonwealth March 6, 2020. 

Child Care Facilities Returning to Traditional Classroom Group Sizes

Today, Gov. Beshear announced licensed child care facilities are returning to traditional classroom group sizes. By Kentucky statute, the group sizes range from 10 for infants, with a staff-to-child ratio of one to five, to 30 children for kids ages 7 and older and a staff-to-child ratio of one to 25.

“A bright day in Kentucky just got brighter,” the Governor said. “The care that has been taken to protect Kentucky’s children and hard-working child care staff will continue even as group sizes increase.”

Children and adults will be screened for fever and contagious symptoms when they enter child care facilities. Personal protective equipment will be provided and worn, and proper sanitization and infection-control measures will be required.

Social distancing requirements will continue to be observed and facility visits will be limited. The same staff members are being asked to work with the same children each day, reducing potential exposure.

Kentucky’s COVID-19 Vaccine Website, vaccine.ky.gov, shows Kentuckians which phase they are in specifically. Individuals can sign up for notifications so state officials can communicate with them when doses become available at new and existing sites. Vaccine.ky.gov also lists regional vaccination partners statewide, so Kentuckians can search their county or region and see how to schedule an appointment.

Kentucky’s COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline, 855-598-2246 or TTY 855-326-4654 (for deaf or hard-of-hearing Kentuckians), has the same features as the website. Kentuckians can get assistance completing the vaccine eligibility questionnaire and scheduling an appointment when doses are available. The hotline is available 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST Monday through Friday.

Free or reduced-cost transportation to and from vaccine appointments is offered by public transit agencies across the commonwealth. These services are already operating in over 90 counties, covering 75% of all counties across Kentucky. Kentuckians can find transportation services near them by heading to kycovid19.ky.gov for a full list of participating public transit agencies and their phone numbers, or by calling the Kentucky COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline.