HENDERSON, Ky. — The Green River District Health Department reported 331 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as incidence rates and case counts continue to decline across the region. There have been seven COVID-related deaths.
The bulk of those cases came from Daviess County, with 191. Henderson County had just 51 new cases, down significantly from 181 in the previous GRDHD report on Tuesday. Ohio County had 29 cases, Webster 22, Union 18, Hancock 11 and McLean 9. The cases were investigated over a three-day period from February 15-17.
The deaths were five Daviess County residents, one from Ohio County and one from Henderson County.
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The current seven-day average is 124 new cases per day for the Seven-County District, up from 190 in Tuesday’s report. The average has fallen steadily over the past three weeks after peaking at 849 cases per day on January 28.
“We are pleased to see the rapid decline in our incidence rates of COVID-19,” said Clay Horton, director of public health for GRDHD. “Although our rates are still high, we could be in a better position in a few weeks. If we want to see this rapid decline continue, we must not let our guard down yet.”
Of the state’s 120 counties, 108 remain at “red” status as high-transmission areas, including all seven GRDHD counties. The Kentucky Department of Public Health defines a high transmission area as 25 or more cases per capita. Daviess has the highest incidence rate in the region at 50.5. Henderson has the lowest rate in the region at 35.1.
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Statewide, Kentucky’s incidence rate is 65.2, the seventh highest in the nation. This number is down from 79.7 in the previous update
There have been 63,684 cases reported in the district since the start of the pandemic, with 777 deaths. Statewide, there have been 1,254,101 confirmed cases and 13,519 COVID-related deaths.
Henderson Mask Policies
Henderson County Schools amended their Healthy at School plan on February 17, making face masks optional for students and staff on school grounds during class hours. Universal masking remains in practice on school buses due to the federal mandate. The school system said its mask policy is data-driven and therefore subject to change.
Face masks are required in all Henderson city government buildings for city employees, visitors and customers.
COVID Vaccine Information
Kentucky residents can visit vaccine.ky.gov to find a vaccine location and sign up to receive update notifications. Additional information about the COVID-19 vaccine is available at vaccines.gov.
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Retail pharmacies and health centers are also providing COVID-19 vaccines. Kentucky COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard and Information: https://govstatus.egov.com/ky-covid-vaccine Kentucky COVID-19 Hotline: 800-722-5725 can answer general questions about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Demography
Cases reported by the Green River District Health Department are being investigated and confirmed locally. These cases are then reported to the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
As of Friday, the total number of cases reported in the Green River District by county, current COVID-19 hospitalizations, cases ever hospitalized, number of deaths by county and percentage of residents who have received at least one dose of vaccine are :
Davies: 29,978 10,667,360 59.02
Hancock: 2,353 0 38 24 65.97
Henderson: 13,307 3,268,149 57.68
McLean: 2,560 0 80 47 54.27
Ohio: 7,432 1,199 96 43.98
Union: 4,184 0 122 53 46.66
Webster: 3,870 0 102 48 51.10
Total: 63,684 14 1,476,777 NA
Additional demographic information
Average age: 39
Age range: 5 days to 104 years
Male: 46.4%
Women: 53.6%
GRDHD COVID-19 cases by age group
1-11: 8%
12-19: 12%
20-29: 16%
30-39: 16%
40-49: 15%
50-59: 13%
60-69: 10%
70-79: 6%
80+: 3%