During what has been another devastating surge of COVID-19 across the country, there is good news: Some states are starting to see infection numbers and hospitalizations drop. But that's not the case everywhere.

As cases seem to begin plateauing, COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Northeast are down by about 11% after reaching a peak about a week ago and have also dropped slightly — about 6% — in the Midwest region, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. And new COVID-19 hospital admissions are beginning to decline nationwide, a sign that total hospitalizations may soon begin going down too in every part of the country.

The agency's data includes both patients who are hospitalized because of COVID-19 complications and patients who may have been admitted for something else but tested positive for COVID-19. That has been true throughout the pandemic, but the share of patients who fall into each category may have changed over time.

"All of the current data is showing very encouraging trends, with many of our key health metrics consistently and substantially declining," Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday. "But we're not out of the woods. Even though we have been able to attain considerable drops in the metrics, and they're continuing to drop, they're still much higher than they have been or where we need to be."

Also this week, Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker announced the state was seeing a decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations, and ICU and ventilator usage, and in Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont said cases and hospitalizations were also going down.

And in New York, the state's "percent positivity is in the single-digits," for the first time since Dec. 20, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday.

But in other parts of the country, a different picture. COVID-19 hospitalization numbers were up about 15% over the past week in the West and up by about 6% in the South — with many hospitals stretched thin from the surge in patients and the severe staffing shortages.

In North Carolina, where health officials say the omicron variant "is sending record numbers of people" to hospitals, the Department of Health and Human Services and North Carolina Emergency Management requested federal support Friday for the Charlotte region to help stressed hospital systems. In a news release, health officials said hospitalization numbers could increase further this month. The vast majority of people hospitalized with the virus are not vaccinated, officials said.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Friday that COVID-19 hospitalization increased to a record of 1,658, but said he is "hopeful we will see the cases go down." In West Virginia, where COVID-19 hospitalizations are continuing to rise, Gov Jim. Justice appealed to residents to get their vaccines and boosters, saying not doing so would be a "real mistake."

"Getting vaccinated or getting boosted stacks the deck to keep you out of the hospital -- I'm living proof," said Justice, who tested positive for the virus earlier this month.

Tracking the omicron surge

CDC weighs 'pivot' on language on vaccinations

As the highly contagious omicron variant continues to spread, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to "pivot" its language around what it means to be fully vaccinated, Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a White House briefing Friday.

But the director stopped short of saying the definition of fully vaccinated needs to change, and instead focused on what it means to be "up to date" on COVID-19 vaccinations.

Fully vaccinated people who are eligible to receive a booster dose of vaccine but are not boosted are not considered "up-to-date" on their vaccinations, Walensky said.

"What we really are working to do is pivot the language to make sure that everybody is as up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines as they personally could be, should be, based on when they got their last vaccine," Walensky said.

"So, importantly, right now, we're pivoting our language. We really want to make sure people are up to date," she added.

Speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that the CDC hasn't updated its definition of "fully vaccinated" because their recommendations are about "how well you are protected rather than a definition."

"It becomes almost a matter of semantics," said Fauci, who noted the terminology can confuse people.

"One of the things that we're talking about from a purely public health standpoint is how well you are protected, rather than what a definition is to get someone to be required or not required," said Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert.

Roughly 63.3% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, according to CDC data. Of those people, only about 39.5% have received their booster shots.

New studies make powerful argument for boosters

Three new large studies from the CDC highlight the importance of getting a booster.

Getting boosted was 90% effective at preventing hospitalizations during a period in December and January when omicron was the dominant variant, according to a CDC study that looked at nearly 88,000 hospitalizations across 10 states. In comparison, getting two shots was 57% effective when it had been at least six months past the second shot.

Getting boosted was 82% effective at preventing visits to emergency rooms and urgent care centers, according to the study, which looked at more than 200,000 visits in 10 states. In comparison, getting two shots was only 38% effective at preventing those visits when it had been at least six months past the second shot. That study was published Friday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

A second study, published in the same place, concluded people with three shots were less likely to get infected with Omicron. And the third study, to be published in the medical journal JAMA, showed that having a booster helped prevent people from becoming ill with Omicron.

"I think it's the third dose that really gives you the solid, the very best protection," Dr. William Schaffner, a longtime CDC vaccine adviser who was not involved with the studies, said.

An intensive care physician said the COVID-19 situation in her hospital is worse now than it ever has been.

Hospital officials at Elliot Hospital in New Hampshire report the intensive care unit typically has 14 beds. The surge this week is up to 26 ICU patients, and most are battling COVID-19.

There are so many sick patients, the hospital opened a surge ICU on the fifth floor and now the state is making contingency plans for what they call a disruption in post-mortem care — more bodies than the hospital morgue can hold.

“They're sicker. They're younger. A lot of them don't have any pre-existing conditions and it's scary,” Dr. Laura McPhee, of Elliot Hospital’s intensive care unit, said.

McPhee was working Wednesday, which is normally her day off.

“We have so many patients in the ICU right now that we are all pulling extra shifts and coming in extra days to work,” McPhee said.

The doctor has been keeping a video diary.

“We're caring for three to four times as many patients as we ever have and we don't have enough staff to do so. We're tired. It's been extremely hard on everybody,” McPhee said.

>> Elliot Hospital workers share what they're experiencing during COVID-19 surge

The Disaster Medical Assistance Team deployed to assist front-line health care workers at Elliot Hospital is leaving Wednesday. Hospital officials said the two-week mission cut down emergency department triage time and allowed 47 patients to get care faster.

“We knew this day would have to come that they would have to leave, but we are grateful to have had them for the time that we had, which was some of the most extraordinary volume levels for us,” Tate Curti, chief operating officer at Elliot Hospital, said.

There’s a refrigerator truck in the back of the hospital for overflow from the morgue – a grim reminder of COVID-19’s most devastating effects.

“We are not using that piece of equipment now. As I understand it, a number of them will be distributed geographically throughout the state. We are but one facility who has one,” Curti said.

“This doesn't have to happen. I've not ever seen a patient here in the ICU who's been fully vaccinated with the booster. Not one,” McPhee said.

McPhee recalled thinking the end was in sight over the summer when they had no COVID-19-positive patients in ICU. She is incredulous to realize it's worse right now than it's ever been. She said this is all preventable.

The U.S. hit a seven-day average of 265,427 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, blowing past the country's previous record of about 252,000 daily cases, reported nearly a year ago on Jan. 11.

The new peak, according to Johns Hopkins University data, comes amid a rapid acceleration of infections in the United States — and across the world — since last month.

And experts predict the omicron variant — the most contagious strain of coronavirus yet — is going to make the start of 2022 very difficult.

"January is going to be a really, really hard month. And people should just brace themselves for a month where lots of people are going to get infected," said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

And the U.S. could "see half a million cases a day — easy — sometime over the next week to 10 days," CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner said Sunday.

Most people who are vaccinated and boosted won't get severe illness, but that won't be true for the unvaccinated, Jha said.

"A lot of people who have not gotten a vaccine are going to end up getting pretty sick, and it's going to be pretty disruptive," Jha said. "My hope is as we get into February and certainly by the time we get into March, infection numbers will come way down, and it'll also start getting (into) spring, and the weather will start getting better. And that will also help."

Despite calls from experts for Americans to get their vaccines and boosters, the rate of booster doses getting administered has fallen in recent weeks — while only 32.7% of the country's fully vaccinated population is boosted.

In addition to getting vaccinated and boosted, people can protect themselves by taking precautions in public, Jha said.

"I would urge people to wear a higher quality mask any time they're in a place with lots of people and they're going to be indoors for any extended period of time," Jha said.

A surgical mask might be fine for a quick grocery store trip in an empty store, but for other events, a well-fitting N95 or KF94 mask provides better protection, he said.

Looking ahead to New Year's Eve on Friday, small gatherings of fully vaccinated people will be safe, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. But people should avoid large parties where they don't know the vaccination status of all guests, he said.

"When you are talking about a New Year's Eve party where you have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, you do not know the status of the vaccination, I would recommend strongly: Stay away from that this year," said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "There will be other years to do that. But not this year."

Pediatric hospitalizations nearing previous record

Holiday gatherings, like those over Christmas and New Year's, have some health care workers worried about the impact on children in the coming weeks -- especially those who are too young to be vaccinated.

"We've just had all of these kids mixing together with everybody else during Christmas," said Dr. Claudia Hoyen, the director of pediatric infection control at UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Ohio.

"We have one more holiday to get through with New Year's, and then we'll be sending everybody back to school. Everybody is kind of waiting on the edge, wondering what we'll end up seeing."

Nationwide, pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations are nearing the record high set in September.

On average, roughly 305 children were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 on any given day over the week that ended Dec. 26, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health and Human Services.

That's more than a 48% jump from the previous week's average and just 10.7% lower than the peak average of 342 children who were admitted to hospitals with the virus that was recorded at the end of August and early September.

In New York City, where cases are surging and the average percent positivity rate is continuing to trend upward, pediatric hospitalizations increased five-fold over a three-week period.

In Chicago, hospitalizations at one children's hospital have quadrupled. At Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., close to half the COVID-19 tests are coming back positive.

At Texas Children's Pediatrics & Urgent Care in Houston, the chief medical officer is concerned about the current surge, he said.

"What's concerning on the (pediatric) side is that, unlike the adults -- where they're reporting for the number of adults getting infected relatively low numbers getting hospitalized — what we're really seeing, we think, is an increasing number of kids being hospitalized," Dr. Stanley Spinner said.

Children are an easy target for the virus, said Dr. Juan Salazar, physician in chief at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford.

"It's affecting larger communities and it's certainly affecting children in a way that we hadn't seen before," he said. "And that's new compared to last year."

CDC updates isolation guidelines

Days after updating its guidance on isolation time for health care workers who test positive for COVID-19, the CDC updated its guidance for the general population.

The agency shortened the recommended time for isolation for people with COVID-19 to five days, if asymptomatic, followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others. The prior guidance advised 10 days of isolation.

"The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after," the CDC said in a statement about the updated guidelines.

The new recommendations will allow asymptomatic people "to come back to work earlier, and safely, at very low risk," said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

"That will help us in the New Year begin to get our gears back into operation and to function better."

The CDC also updated its recommended quarantine period for those exposed to someone with COVID-19.

For those who are unvaccinated, have not had a second mRNA dose in more than six months or have not had a booster shot, the CDC recommends quarantining for five days followed by strict mask use for an additional five days.

People who have gotten their booster shot do not need to quarantine if they are exposed to COVID-19, but they should wear a mask for 10 days after exposure, the CDC said.

The shorter isolation and quarantine guidelines stem from "the extraordinary, unprecedented wave of infections" the United States is seeing and is likely to continue seeing over the next weeks, Fauci told CNN on Tuesday.

"There is the danger that there will be so many people who are being isolated who are asymptomatic for the full 10 days that you could have a major negative impact on our ability to keep society running," he said.

Ohio has hit the highest number of COVID-19 cases ever reported in a single day with Christmas just days away.

There were 12,864 new cases over a 24-hour period reported Wednesday.

State health officials said there were 492 new hospital admissions for a total of about 4,000 people hospitalized around Ohio. There are 800 people on ventilators.

“We should all be very concerned by the tidal wave of COVID hospitalizations, which again are driven largely by unvaccinated Ohioans,” said director of the Ohio Health Department Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff.

The northern part of Ohio has been hit hardest so far.

The state rolled out plans for the Ohio National Guard to be deployed to those areas first, then reassess in the coming days and weeks.

“It’s disappointing. In Cincinnati, we may not be seeing the numbers the north is seeing, we know it’s coming,” said UC Health Dr. Jen Forrester. “Honestly, we’re worried that given the stresses, that we’re not going to be able to provide the care that we want to provide to each and every one of our patients.”

Testing facilities were jammed Wednesday as people tried to make sure their get-togethers can be as safe as possible.

“Now that my boyfriend tested positive, I got to stay home,” said one woman who was in a long line of cars for COVID testing. “Last year, we did a Zoom Christmas and we were like ‘finally this year,’ and then everything changed.”

Health officials said it was too early to tell if the new cases were omicron or delta or both.

Related video above: National Guard could be called up to help hospitals, New Hampshire governor says

With Michigan's COVID-19 case and hospitalization numbers hovering near all-time highs, the federal government will send doctors, nurses and others to support certain hospitals, the state health department said Wednesday.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had asked for help, and the federal government agreed to "send two medical teams to local hospitals to relieve doctors and nurses as they treat COVID-19 and other patients," Michigan's health department said.

The 44 medical personnel — including doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists — will be split between Dearborn's Beaumont Hospital outside Detroit, and the Spectrum Health System in Grand Rapids, the state health department said.

The teams will arrive next week "and begin treating patients immediately, providing support for the next 30 days," the department said.

"I'm grateful that the federal government has granted our request to provide much-needed relief to the health care personnel who have remained on the front lines of this pandemic," Whitmer said Wednesday.

Michigan is reporting more new cases per capita than any state

Though COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the United States dropped off at the tail end of a summer surge, they've risen over the past few weeks.

Michigan — along with some other states that weren't initially hit as hard as the South in the summer surge — has especially been under pressure.

Michigan recently reported its highest seven-day average of new daily cases for the pandemic, at 8,793 on Nov. 19. As of Thursday, the average was 8,470 a day — still more than double where the average was at the end of October, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

About 54.4% of Michigan's population was fully vaccinated as of Wednesday — tied for 27th among the 50 states for that metric, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Thursday, Michigan was reporting more new cases per capita over the last week than any other state, with Wisconsin, Minnesota and New Hampshire not far behind, according to JHU data.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Michigan hospitals was 4,104 on Friday, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

That figure has generally risen since mid-July, and could soon rival Michigan's highest number of the pandemic: 4,468 on Nov. 30, 2020.

"Our teams are so burned out and struggling to keep up with the amount of patients coming through the emergency rooms, and the difference now is just the level of their sickness is so much greater in severity," David Claeys, president of Beaumont's Dearborn hospital, told CNN affiliate WXYZ.

Cases are generally rising in the US

Statistics are expected to be distorted over the next few days because many states did not report numbers on Thanksgiving. But as of Wednesday — the day before Thanksgiving — the country averaged 95,758 new COVID-19 cases each day across seven days, according to JHU data.

That's still below the summer 2021 peak of 171,123 daily reached on Sept. 13, but it has generally risen since late October, when the average dipped to near 70,000 a day, according to JHU data.

More than a third — 32,328 — of the country's average of new daily cases as of Wednesday was in the 12 states that the U.S. Census Bureau says comprise the Midwest.

More than 52,900 COVID-19 patients were in U.S. hospitals as of Friday, according to HHS. That's well down from a summer 2021 peak of 103,896 on September 1, but the figure is up from November 9, when it had dipped to around 48,600.

ICU beds are more than three-quarters full around the country, more than one in seven of them for COVID-19 patients, according to HHS.

More people need to get vaccinated, Fauci says

The latest uptick in cases is "not unexpected," as people spend more time inside during the cold-weather season and as immunity wanes, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN on Sunday.

And what happens with COVID-19 in the U.S. over the next couple of months depends on what Americans do, including whether more of the population gets vaccines and booster shots, Fauci told CNN on Friday.

"Right now, we have a tool, a very effective tool," he said Friday. "We have too many people ... who are eligible for vaccination, who are not vaccinated. We've got to get them vaccinated. There's no reason whatsoever not to vaccinate them."

About 59% of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated, and 69.7% have received at least one dose. Among those eligible — people at least 5 years old — 74.1% received at least one dose, according to the CDC.

But that leaves more than a quarter of the eligible population — about 81 million people — without at least one dose, a CNN analysis of CDC data shows.

Unvaccinated people face a far greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people do, and the gap is even greater in terms of risk of hospitalization or death, according to the CDC.

Unvaccinated people were six times more likely than fully vaccinated people to test positive for COVID-19 and 14 times more likely to die of COVID-19, according to CDC data published Monday.

Fauci on Friday urged adults to get boosters at the recommended interval after full vaccination, saying they increase the level of protection "dramatically."

"You get a booster now, you can get into the winter and have a higher degree of protection," he said. "That's the reason why we're pushing so hard for people to: A) Get vaccinated in the first place if you're not vaccinated; and B) If you have been vaccinated and you're six months or more following an mRNA or two months or more following the J&J, go get your booster. It really is important as we enter into this colder, winter season."

FRANKFORT, Ky. — City and county governments across Kentucky can apply for part of $300 million in CARES Act funding for coronavirus response starting Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear announced at his Wednesday news conference.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:

To apply, local governments with COVID-19-related expenses from March 1, 2020 to Dec. 30, 2020. These expenses can include personal protective equipment, food delivery to nursing homes and vulnerable populations, necessary telework and communications improvements, and others.

“Local governments have been instrumental in the fight against COVID-19 and are a lifeline in our local communities,” Beshar said.

Local governments must apply with expense documentation on DLG’s website Thursday at 8 a.m. Funding will be allocated to governments based on population size.

Retail reopens at 33% capacity

Beshear said initial reports Wednesday indicated people have followed social distancing and cleaning guidelines in retail stores so far.

"This is how we do this right," Beshear said.

With two weeks of data, Beshear said he hopes the state will be able to increase the number of people allowed inside a store at one time. Currently, retailers can host customers at 33% capacity.

Officials recommended that customers follow social distancing guidelines, wear masks and limit the amount of time they are inside retail stores.

Malls and flea markets can also reopen Wednesday as long as staff at entrances and exits keep occupancy at 33% and adhere to cleaning guidelines. Individual stores must also enforce 33% capacity, Beshear said. Mall food courts must follow the same requirements set for restaurants.

Funeral homes were also permitted to reopen Wednesday, and houses of worship could once again host limited-capacity in-person services.

Ky. case numbers and testing

Beshear reported 10 new virus-related deaths Wednesday, and there have been 376 virus-related deaths among 8,167 total positive COVID-19 cases statewide. NKY Health reports 999 total local cases and 57 virus-related deaths as of Wednesday.

More than 2,900 people have recovered from coronavirus, and more than 158,600 people have been tested.

Beshear said that the numbers for the last few weeks have been stable, and that as more Kentuckians get back to work this month, he is confident the state's healthcare system could handle a "second wave" of cases.

“I am encouraged that the number of days that it has taken to stabilize people is a lot lower than was ever anticipated," he said. “Our healthcare professionals have proven that they can get people in, get people better and get people out a lot sooner than anybody had expected.”

Residents of long-term care facilities testing positive for COVID-19 statewide hit 1,002 plus 461 staff, Beshear said Tuesday. So far, 205 residents and two staff members have died since outbreak began, accounting for roughly 60% of the state's total deaths due to COVID-19.

On Wednesday, Public Health Director Dr. Steven Stack announced that the state is administering tests in 23 long-term care facilities. The state is also issuing over 2 million pieces of personal protective equipment to 280 facilities around Kentucky, including 209,900 items of PPE like masks, face shields, gloves and gowns sent to Northern Kentucky.

A free drive-thru COVID-19 testing site will remain open in Erlanger at 25 Atlantic Ave this week. You can call 1-800-737-7900 to schedule an appointment.

For a complete list of coronavirus testing sites in Kentucky, click here.

4 children with COVID-19-related syndrome

Beshear announced that a 5-year-old and an 11-year-old have now contracted a coronavirus-related "pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome" on Monday. Beshear said the 5-year-old has since been released from a local hospital, and the 11-year-old remains hospitalized.

State leaders had previously announced that a 10-year-old and a 16-year-old had contracted the new syndrome which first appeared in New York.

Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said the 10-year-old in Kentucky had been put on a ventilator in critical condition due to a COVID-19-related inflammatory syndrome that affects young people. Beshear said that the child has been taken off a ventilator as his condition improves. The 16-year-old had been released from the hospital.

Stack said symptoms of this immune system syndrome vary and appear weeks after the child recovers from COVID-19. Possible symptoms include fever, rash, abdominal pain mimicking appendicitis, gastrointestinal problems and respiratory problems.

Stack advises parents call the Kentucky Pediatric Hotline at (800) 722-5725 for questions and more information.

What else opens in Kentucky this week?

Restaurants can reopen at 33% capacity with outdoor seating starting Friday.

Beshear said bars will likely remain closed until July because it's harder to regulate social distancing inside bars than in restaurants, but bars can still operate as restaurants by offering food service at tables outside.

Additionally, the governor's restrictions on interstate travel will expire Friday.

TIMELINE: Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana reopening plans

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear gave an update Friday on COVID-19 cases and plans to reopen dining rooms across the commonwealth.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:

Restaurants reopen Friday

Restaurants across Kentucky reopened at 33% dine-in capacity plus outdoor seating Friday. Restaurants have been instructed to limit parties to 10 or fewer guests, and to separate tables by at least six feet. Employees will be required to wear masks while interacting with customers.

The state also advises that restaurants use disposable menus, napkins, table cloths, disposable utensils and condiments when possible. Self-serve buffets and salad bars will also be closed if employees cannot offer buffet service.

Restaurants must also create mask policies for customers, which may include refusing to serve guests who aren't wearing a face mask while away from their table or around others.

For more guidelines for restaurants and customers, click here.

Beshear said bars will remain closed until July because it's harder to regulate social distancing inside bars than in restaurants, but bars can still operate as restaurants by offering food service at tables outside.

Additionally, the governor's restrictions on interstate travel expired Friday.

On Thursday, Beshear added new dates for reopening horse parks, auctions, large-group gatherings and more. See WCPO's timeline for the full list of event reopenings in Kentucky and around the Tri-State.

TIMELINE: Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana reopening plans

Voting in Kentucky's primary

Sec. of State Michael Adams unveiled a new web portal where Kentuckians can check their voter registration status and request absentee ballots for the primary elections.

There are four ways to vote in Kentucky: in-person on election day, June 23; in-person early voting before June 8; absentee by mail; and absentee ballots returned to your local elections board before election day.

Since the state is "not able" to mail ballots to everyone automatically, Sec. of State Michael Adams said those who want an absentee ballot to either mail back or return to local elections boards can visit GoVoteKy.com.

“It makes it easy to vote, and it makes it hard to cheat,” Adams said.

You can check your voter status and update your information at Elect.Ky.Gov. Both sites are mobile-friendly, Adams said.

The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday, May 26. The deadline to request a primary absentee ballot is June 15.

MORE: Kentucky gets in line with mail-in voting

Case numbers and testing

Beshear reported five new virus-related deaths Friday, and there have been 391 virus-related deaths among 8,426 total positive COVID-19 cases statewide. NKY Health reported 1,065 total local cases and 57 virus-related deaths as of Thursday.

More than 3,000 people have recovered from coronavirus, and more than 171,338 people have been tested so far. Beshear said though 40 virus-related deaths have been reported in just three days, the numbers continue to show a "plateauing" of cases.

A free drive-thru COVID-19 testing site will remain open in Erlanger at 25 Atlantic Ave this week. You can call 1-800-737-7900 to schedule an appointment.

For a complete list of coronavirus testing sites in Kentucky, click here.

Childcare reopening in June

Cabinet of Health and Family Services Sec. Eric Friedlander announced Thursday that in-home daycare will be able to open June 8, with center-based licensed childcare resuming June 15.

Friedlander said daycares would have to follow new guidelines, including staggering playground time, eliminating centerwide family events and field trips, and using centralized pick up/drop off locations to reduce exposure.

All adults and children over age 5 are asked to wear masks in childcare centers, Friedlander said.

For more guidelines on childcare and resources for parents, click here.

Ky. to distribute $300M in CARES funds

City and county governments across Kentucky can apply for part of $300 million in CARES Act funding for coronavirus response starting Thursday.

To apply, local governments with COVID-19-related expenses from March 1, 2020 to Dec. 30, 2020 must complete an application with expense documentation. These expenses can include personal protective equipment, food delivery to nursing homes and vulnerable populations, necessary telework and communications improvements, and others.

“Local governments have been instrumental in the fight against COVID-19 and are a lifeline in our local communities,” Beshar said.

Local governments must apply with the expense documentation on DLG’s website. Funding will be allocated to governments based on population size.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The number of positive coronavirus tests in Kentucky increased again Friday, driving the total number of cases in the state over 30,000, but Gov. Andy Beshear said the percentage of tests coming back positive declined again.

The closely watched “positivity rate” fell for a third straight day to 5.43%, Beshear said in a news release.

“But, we still have too many cases and we need to do everything we can to try to decrease those,” he said.

There’s also been an increase in intensive care unit patients, he said.

There are at least 30,151 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, including 778 new cases reported Friday, Beshear said. The number reported Friday was up from 659 new cases on Thursday. Four new deaths were reported Friday, bringing the total number of Kentuckians who have died from the virus to 735.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness and be fatal.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear reported 700 new COVID-19 cases and seven virus-related deaths for a total of 32,197 total positive cases and 751 virus-related deaths on Tuesday.

“While today we have a higher number than we did at this time last week, we believe there is a general leveling off though today there are more cases than last week," the governor said at his daily press briefing Tuesday.

Kentucky's positivity rate had fallen slightly to 5.18% by Monday, and it rose again to 5.24% on Tuesday, an amount Beshear said is not a significant bump.

Still, he warned that with the rising case numbers last month, state and health officials expect numbers of virus-related deaths to increase within several weeks to a month.

"It's probably going to be a really hard August," Beshear said.

But since the state required Kentuckians to mask up on July 10, case growth has slowed from 52% from July 13-19 to 5% from July 27 - Aug. 2. Beshear said Kentuckians can expect that mask mandate, slated to last 30 days, to be extended.

“Before we can have a full plateau, before we can start seeing case numbers go down, you have to slow the growth that is out there," Beshear said.

In her first appearance during the governor's press conference, Kentucky First Lady Britainy Beshear called on Kentuckians to donate face masks for students, educators and staff returning to school later this month through the launch of the new Coverings for Kids program.

“It’s more important than ever that we are proactive in preparing our schools for a safe return when that day eventually comes,” she said Tuesday.

Starting Aug. 11, people can drop off purchased or handmade masks at district donation centers. For more information on donating face masks, click here.

Free testing in NKY this week

In Northern Kentucky, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Covington's Gravity Diagnostics will offer free, appointment-only drive-thru testing at 25 Atlantic Ave in Erlanger starting Thursday. The site, the former Toyota HQ building off Mineola Pike, will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Additionally, appointment-only drive-up testing will be available through St. E at 7200 Alexandria Pike, Alexandria starting Tuesday, Aug. 11. The free testing site will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Schedule an appointment at those sites online at www.stelizabeth.com/covid-testing.

Kentucky has administered 650,093 COVID-19 tests so far. To find all coronavirus testing locations near you, click here.

More Ky. case numbers

NKY Health reported that 2,878 people in Boone, Campbell, Kenton and Grant counties have tested positive for coronavirus since March, with 833 active virus cases. As of Tuesday, 81 people have died of the virus and 1,964 people have recovered. Gov. Beshear reported that a 50-year-old man in Kenton County died of coronavirus on Tuesday.

In 248 of Kentucky's long-term care facilities, 2,635 residents (444 active cases) and 1,454 staff (213 active cases) have tested positive for the virus; 478 residents and four staff members have reportedly died of the virus as of Tuesday.

In 110 Kentucky childcare centers, 84 staff and 75 children have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday.

Restaurants reduce capacity, travel advisory updated

To prevent statewide shutdowns and case surges seen in other states, Beshear ordered restaurants to reduce indoor dining capacity to 25% and maximize outdoor seating when possible. On Tuesday, Beshear said he would look into a possibly capacity increases when Kentucky's positivity rate dips back under 5%.

The governor announced a travel advisory earlier this month, asking Kentuckians to avoid traveling to states with high COVID-19 positivity rates, and if they do travel to hard-hit areas to quarantine for two weeks.

On Monday, the list of states on the travel advisory included Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Nevada and South Carolina. Ahead of events in Louisville, including the 51st Street Rod Nationals this weekend, Beshear encouraged people attending from out-of-state to be responsible and get tested.

Beshear also recently enacted a 10-person limit on social gatherings, a delay of school start dates to the third week of August and a two-week shutdown for all bars.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:

FRANKFORT, Ky. — After testing negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear reported 1,163 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the highest daily case count Kentucky has seen so far.

Earlier this week, the governor reported that a computer glitch had delayed new case reports from reaching the state to be counted.

“The most accurate thing we can do in the way that we’ve reported is that when they are processed by us, they go onto the site. So today, we’ve set a record that we didn’t want to set -- we never wanted to get over 1,000 cases," he said.

Kentucky reports 36,945 total COVID-19 cases and 790 virus-related deaths. More than 8,819 people have recovered from the virus.

NKY Health reports that 3,265 people across Boone, Kenton, Campbell and Grant counties have tested positive for COVID-19, and 85 people have reportedly died of the virus. The health department reports 849 active cases, and 2,331 people who have recovered from coronavirus as of Wednesday.

Kentucky's positivity rate has fallen slightly from 6% to 5.62%, and the state has now administered more than 711,017 coronavirus tests.

Gov. urges schools delay in-person start

On Monday, Beshear recommended delaying the start of in-person classes in Kentucky until Sept. 28. Beshear called opening schools while cases continue to rise “something that would defy logic, something that wouldn’t be safe to do.”

“Let’s be smart about this. All we’re asking for right now: one month. One month to not make mistakes with our children, their parents or their teachers," he said Wednesday.

The decision to open K-12 classrooms or keep students at home still rests with local school districts. In Northern Kentucky, Kenton County Schools, Covington Independent Public Schools and Fort Thomas Independent Schools have altered their plans and moved instruction online during the first six weeks of school

On Tuesday, the Diocese of Covington joined Lexington and Louisville in their decision to start in-person classes before September.

“I disagree with their decision, I don’t believe it’s safe. We just had 1,100 cases,” Beshear said, adding that Kentucky hasn’t had a chance to see results of the mistakes other states’ schools have had as they reopen "too early."

Aside from rising virus cases and positivity rate, Beshear said his recommendation aims to prevent interruptions that other states' school systems have seen, like the shutdowns required when coronavirus breaks out in those schools.

“If you come back for three days and then have to stop, and then have to get distance learning going, it might hurt your students even more," he said.

In addition, Beshear said some Kentucky families continue to go on beach vacations to COVID-19 hotspots in Florida and South Carolina, a factor which could further spread the virus as children return to school.

Beshear expressed concern last week that if the state's coronavirus positivity rate does not fall soon, school reopenings might be pushed back from the third week of August to a later date.

“I am for getting our kids safely back into in-person classes, even during this pandemic. It’s just getting them back at the height of the pandemic I think would be irresponsible," he said.

Travel advisory updated

On Wednesday, Beshear updated his travel advisory, which recommends a two-week self-quarantine for Kentuckians who travel to states and U.S. territories reporting a coronavirus positivity rate equal to or greater than 15%.

Those states now include Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.

Free testing in NKY this week

In Northern Kentucky, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Covington's Gravity Diagnostics now offers free, appointment-only drive-thru testing at 25 Atlantic Ave in Erlanger. The site, the former Toyota HQ building off Mineola Pike, will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. You will be able to collect your own sample without leaving your vehicle and receive results within three to five days.

Additionally, appointment-only drive-up testing will be available through St. E at 7200 Alexandria Pike, Alexandria, starting Tuesday, Aug. 11. The free testing site will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Schedule an appointment at those sites online at www.stelizabeth.com/covid-testing.

To find all coronavirus testing locations near you, click here.

Bars reopen with 10 p.m. service cutoff

Effective Tuesday, Beshear announced a new mandate to increase capacity for bars and restaurants to reopen at 50%, emphasizing the importance of restaurants to prioritize outdoor seating.

To reopen, bars and restaurants must observe a food and beverage service "cutoff" at 10 p.m., with establishments closing by 11 p.m.

Bars can expect to have an "enforced seating" rule, and bar patrons should expect to have an assigned seat in a bar and that they should sit in that seat unless making a trip to the restroom. All service and orders should take place at the table with the group or party that people come to the establishment with.

All employees and patrons must wear masks when not eating or drinking, and no one is allowed to congregate at the bar.

The update mirrors a similar practice mandated in Ohio at the end of July.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:

DAYTON, Ohio — The University of Dayton reported 343 students have tested positive for COVID-19 since Friday, including 111 on Monday, which brings the number of active cases to 744, the Journal-News reports.

Over the weekend, UD reported its highest single-day total of 167 cases on Saturday, and another 65 cases were reported Sunday, according to the university’s campus status webpage. The number of coronavirus cases is nearing 10 percent of the student body, based on the total undergraduate enrollment of 8,717 for 2020 reported to U.S. News & World Report for its annual college rankings.

The campus alert level remained unchanged Monday at red Status 4-Warning on its five-tired system. This means contact tracing is not able to reliably identify affected individuals. The next status would call for all students to vacate campus.

Last week, the university extended remote learning until at least Sept. 14.

It also launched an initiative to expand testing of students.

The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO 9 News.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — After long-term care residents and healthcare workers, Kentucky plans to give COVID-19 vaccines to people age 70 and older, first responders and K-12 school personnel possibly starting in early February.

Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said Monday that it is crucial to begin vaccinating people age 70 or older, who are most at-risk of complications due to COVID-19 and make up 75% of all COVID-19 deaths in Kentucky.

“This is clearly the population at greatest risk for serious medical needs, requiring hospitalization and intensive care unit care, and also the population at greatest risk for death,” Stack said.

Phase 1b also includes police officers and firefighters, and most emergency medical responders are already vaccinated in the first phase.

K-12 school personnel includes educators, bus drivers, custodians, housekeeping and other workers who might come in direct contact with students or school buildings. Off-site or administration personnel will have to wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Stack said.

Gov. Andy Beshear said that "Phase 1a" (healthcare workers, long-term care residents and staff) will end and "Phase 1b" (people over 70, first responders, K-12 personnel) could begin around Feb. 1. Both Beshear and Stack asked Kentuckians for patience as health officials work to distribute the vaccine.

Kentucky expects to receive roughly 202,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines by the end of December. More than 26,300 doses have already been administered in hospitals and long-term care centers, and 40 additional facilities will receive some amount of vaccines by the end of this week, Beshear said.

For questions on COVID-19 vaccines and their distribution, call Kentucky's 24-hour hotline at (800) 722-5725 or visit Kentucky's vaccine webpage.

COVID-19 case numbers decreasing

At his briefing Monday, Gov. Beshear announced that numbers of new COVID-19 cases appear to be falling.

“We have certainly stopped the exponential growth, this third wave, and I believe that we've not only plateaued it, but we’re starting to see cases decrease,” Beshear said.

Beshear reported 1,455 new cases and eight coronavirus-related deaths on Monday. Since March, 258,517 COVID-19 cases and 2,563 virus-related deaths have been reported in Kentucky. Holiday lab closures and an AT&T outage caused by an RV bombing in Nashville may have affected case reporting, as those labs enter new cases using the internet, Beshear said.

Beshear added that reported deaths may remain high as they lag weeks behind last fall's exponential case growth. He also recognized the "sacrifices" Kentucky businesses made to slow the spread of COVID-19 cases.

“Those sacrifices were not in vain, as the rest of the country sees continuing increases in cases, as the rest of the country sees runs out of ICU beds and hospital beds," the governor said. "At this moment, we’ve stopped that from happening in Kentucky, but we can let this success go. We’ve gotta keep it up -- otherwise we can be back very quickly to a more dangerous place."

Hospitalizations remained high Monday, with 1,552 Kentuckians currently hospitalized for COVID-19, 411 people in intensive care units and 217 on ventilators.

Kentucky's COVID-19 test positivity rate has fallen to 7.97% on Monday. The state's fatality rate, the proportion of people who die out of people who test positive for the virus, hovers at 0.97%.

Using the state's contact tracing database, NKY Health reports 2,407 active coronavirus cases in Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties, and 19,579 people have recovered from the virus as of Monday. Since the pandemic began, 164 Northern Kentuckians have died from the virus.

Where to get tested for free in NKY

St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Covington's Gravity Diagnostics offer free, appointment-only drive-thru testing at 25 Atlantic Ave in Erlanger, the former Toyota HQ building off Mineola Pike.

The site is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. You will be able to collect your own sample without leaving your vehicle and receive results within three to five days.

Additionally, appointment-only drive-up testing is available through St. E at 7200 Alexandria Pike, Alexandria. The free testing site is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Schedule an appointment at those sites online at www.stelizabeth.com/covid-testing. To find all coronavirus testing locations near you, click here.

Watch a replay of Monday's briefing in the player below:

Video above: Johns Hopkins experts cautiously optimistic amid downward COVID-19 trendsIt’s a milestone that by all accounts didn’t have to happen this soon.The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000 late Friday — a number greater than the population of Boston. The last 100,000 deaths occurred during a time when vaccines — which overwhelmingly prevent deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness — were available to any American over the age of 12.The milestone is deeply frustrating to doctors, public health officials and the American public, who watched a pandemic that had been easing earlier in the summer take a dark turn. Tens of millions of Americans have refused to get vaccinated, allowing the highly contagious delta variant to tear through the country and send the death toll from 600,000 to 700,000 in 3 1/2 months.Florida suffered by far the most death of any state during that period, with the virus killing about 17,000 residents since the middle of June. Texas was second with 13,000 deaths. The two states account for 15% of the country's population, but more than 30% of the nation's deaths since the nation crossed the 600,000 threshold.Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who has analyzed publicly reported state data, said it's safe to say at least 70,000 of the last 100,000 deaths were in unvaccinated people. And of those vaccinated people who died with breakthrough infections, most caught the virus from an unvaccinated person, he said.“If we had been more effective in our vaccination, then I think it’s fair to say, we could have prevented 90% of those deaths,” since mid-June, Dowdy said.“It’s not just a number on a screen,” Dowdy said. “It’s tens of thousands of these tragic stories of people whose families have lost someone who means the world to them."Danny Baker is one of them.The 28-year-old seed hauler from Riley, Kansas, contracted COVID-19 over the summer, spent more than a month in the hospital and died Sept. 14. He left behind a wife and a 7-month-old baby girl.“This thing has taken a grown man, 28-year-old young man, 6′2″, 300-pound man, and took him down like it was nothing,” said his father, 56-year-old J.D. Baker, of Milford, Kansas. “And so if young people think that they’re still ... protected because of their youth and their strength, it’s not there anymore.”In the early days of the pandemic, Danny Baker, who was a championship trap shooter in high school and loved hunting and fishing, insisted he would be first in line for a vaccine, recalled his mother.But just as vaccinations opened up to his age group, the U.S. recommended a pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots. The news frightened him, as did information swirling online that the vaccine could harm fertility, though medical experts say there’s no biological reason the shots would affect fertility.His wife also was breastfeeding, so they decided to wait. Health experts now say breastfeeding mothers should get the vaccine for their own protection and that it may even provide some protection for their babies through antibodies passed along in breastmilk.“There’s just a lot of miscommunication about the vaccine,” said his wife, 27-year-old Aubrea Baker, a labor and delivery nurse, adding that her husband's death inspired a Facebook page and at least 100 people to get vaccinated. “It’s not that we weren’t going to get it. We just hadn’t gotten it yet.”When deaths surpassed 600,000 in mid-June, vaccinations already were driving down caseloads, restrictions were being lifted and people looked forward to life returning to normal over the summer. Deaths per day in the U.S. had plummeted to an average of around 340, from a high of over 3,000 in mid-January. Soon afterward, health officials declared it a pandemic of the unvaccinated.But as the delta variant swept the country, caseloads and deaths soared — especially among the unvaccinated and younger people, with hospitals around the country reporting dramatic increases in admissions and deaths among people under 65. They also reported breakthrough infections and deaths, though at far lower rates, prompting efforts to provide booster shots to vulnerable Americans.Now, daily deaths are averaging about 1,900 a day. Cases have started to fall from their highs in September but there is fear that the situation could worsen in the winter months when colder weather drives people inside.Almost 65% of Americans have had at least one dose of vaccine, while about 56% are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.But millions are either refusing or still on the fence because of fear, misinformation and political beliefs. Health care workers report being threatened by patients and community members who don't believe COVID-19 is real.The first known deaths from the virus in the U.S. were in early February 2020. It took four months to reach the first 100,000 deaths. During the most lethal phase of the disaster, in the winter of 2020-21, it took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths.The U.S. reached 500,000 deaths in mid-February, when the country was still in the midst of the winter surge and vaccines were only available to a limited number of people. The death toll stood about 570,000 in April when every adult American became eligible for shots.“I remember when we broke that 100,000-death mark, people just shook their heads and said ‘Oh, my god,’” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “Then we said, ‘Are we going to get to 200,000?’ Then we kept looking at 100,000-death marks,” and finally surpassed the estimated 675,000 American deaths from the 1918-19 flu pandemic.“And we’re not done yet,” Benjamin said.The deaths during the delta surge have been unrelenting in hotspots in the South. Almost 79 people out of every 100,000 people in Florida have died of COVID since mid-June, the highest rate in the nation.Amanda Alexander, a COVID-19 ICU nurse at Georgia’s Augusta University Medical Center, said Thursday that she'd had a patient die on each of her previous three shifts.“I’ve watched a 20-year-old die. I’ve watched 30-year-olds, 40-year-olds,” with no pre-existing conditions that would have put them at greater risk, she said. “Ninety-nine percent of our patients are unvaccinated. And it’s just so frustrating because the facts just don’t lie and we’re seeing it every day.”___Associated Press Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson and data journalist Justin Myers contributed to this story.

As the U.S. ushered in 2021, more than 125,300 COVID-19 patients remained hospitalized — another record for the fourth day in a row.

The high count is a grim reminder that even with 2020 behind us, the pandemic continues to ravage parts of the country.

And some local leaders warn the worst is still ahead. "We are still going to have our toughest and darkest days," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told CNN.

Los Angeles County, as well as the state of California, have battled brutal surges of infections, hospitalizations and deaths in the past weeks, all driven in part by Thanksgiving gatherings, health officials said. Surging hospitalizations in the county are pushing hospitals to the "brink of catastrophe," said Dr. Christina Ghaly, Los Angeles County Health Services director.

In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp said a convention center will begin accepting patients at the end of this week and will have an additional 60 beds to "help ensure that our hospitals continue to have the capacity they need for COVID and non-COVID patients."

Arizona health officials say the number of new cases remains high, with hospitalization and death tallies also increasing.

"Even without COVID-19, winter is an especially busy season for hospitals. Amid this pandemic and the surge in cases, more than 90% of intensive care unit beds are in use this week, with more than half of those beds occupied by COVID-19 patients," Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said in a video message posted to Twitter.

And experts have warned the grim numbers could climb further nationwide in the coming weeks — a swells stemming from the gatherings and travels that took place over the holidays.

Despite repeated calls from both local and state leaders for people to celebrate with only members of their household, millions of Americans opted to spend time away from home. On Wednesday, the Transportation Security Administration reported its fourth-busiest day of the pandemic, screening more than a million people for the fifth straight day.

How vaccine distributions are going

Vaccinations are ongoing across the country but experts say it will be months before vaccines are widespread enough to turn the course of the pandemic.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Thursday announced doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be available to pharmacies in limited supply starting Jan. 4 to be administered to people who are 70 and older as well health care workers.

The initial supply, the governor's office said, will be "extremely limited and people must contact a designated pharmacy to make appointments before going in to be vaccinated."

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday he hoped the city can administer a million doses by the end of January.

"Like any good New Year's resolution, one million doses by the end of January is an ambitious goal to say the least," he said. "We are doing everything we can to vaccinate as many New Yorkers as possible, but to really pick up the pace, we need our federal and state partners on board — and fast. It will be tough, but I believe that we can do it."

As distribution expands to the general public, the mayor said that the vaccine will be available to hard-hit neighborhoods first.

So far, more than 12.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed nationwide and more than 2.7 million have been administered. The roll-out has been slower than many officials expected, but if the U.S. is able to "catch up" in 2021, widespread vaccination could be possible starting in April, Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

"Let's say in April, it will be what I call "open season," namely, anybody who wants to get vaccinated can get vaccinated," Fauci said. "If we then diligently vaccinate people in April, May, June, July, then we will gradually and noticeably get a degree of protection approaching herd immunity."

By the time early fall rolls around, Fauci said, "we will have enough good herd immunity to be able to really get back to some strong semblance of normality."

Florida has evidence of UK variant case

Meanwhile, more states are now beginning to report cases of the Covid-19 variant that was first detected in the U.K.

Florida health officials announced the state has evidence of the first case of the variant in a man in his 20s with no history of travel.

"The Department is working with the CDC on this investigation. We encourage all to continue practicing Covid-19 mitigation," the state's health department wrote on Twitter.

California health officials also said earlier this week the variant was detected in a 30-year-old San Diego man, who is not hospitalized and had very few social interactions during his potential contagious period.

The first known case of the variant in the U.S. was identified in Colorado, in a man in his 20s who has no travel history.

But experts have said they expect there are likely many more cases across the country that have just not been detected.

"An unknown travel history means that this person picked it up the community," Dr. Atul Gawande, a member of the Biden-Harris transition Covid-19 advisory board, previously told CNN.

"If this mutation, this mutated virus, which is more contagious, is not widespread yet and beginning to spread, that means it will be even more important to follow the approaches we know work," he said.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana health officials reported 106 additional COVID-19 deaths and 6,407 new coronavirus infections Friday as the state’s coronavirus-related hospitalizations continued to decline following a series of spikes during December.

The newly confirmed deaths, which occurred over several days, raised Indiana’s pandemic toll to 8,371, including both confirmed and presumed infections, the Indiana State Department of Health said.

The new COVID-19 infections boosted the number of Indiana residents known to have had the coronavirus to 517,773.

As of Thursday, 2,786 Hoosiers were hospitalized with COVID-19 at Indiana’s hospitals — 56 fewer patients than were hospitalized as of Wednesday. Thursday’s tally is a 19% decrease from the state’s hospitalization peak in early December, according to the state health department’s online dashboard.

Nearly 76,000 Hoosiers had received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday morning, but more than 110,000 additional Indiana residents had appointments scheduled through Monday to get their shots.

Gov. Eric Holcomb and top health officials have called for patience as the early doses of vaccine against COVID-19 are administered to health care workers and residents inside long-term care facilities.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky unveiled the rest of its plan to vaccinate its citizens against COVID-19 on Monday.

The state is still working to vaccinate long-term care residents and staff as well as frontline healthcare workers in "Phase 1a." People age 70 and older, first responders and K-12 school personnel will be vaccinated next in "Phase 1b," and that could start by February.

Kentucky unveiled its remaining vaccine phases on Monday: 1c includes anyone age 60 and older, anyone 16 and older with a high-risk medical condition, and all essential workers; Phase 2 includes anyone over age 40; Phase 3 includes anyone older than 16; Phase 4 includes children under 16, provided that the FDA approves a vaccine for children.

Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday expressed his dissatisfaction with how fast Kentucky, along with the rest of the country, is currently distributing initial shipments of COVID-19 vaccines.

Kentucky was allocated about 202,000 COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna in December, with another 57,000 doses expected to arrive early this week. As of Sunday, Kentucky has administered about 60,400 vaccines.

“I’m not OK with the pace at which they are currently being provided," the governor said.

Going forward, Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said Kentucky hopes to administer 90% of all vaccines received within seven days of arrival, and to vaccinate "more than half of every interested Kentuckian" by June.

To do this, Kentucky will allow vaccination sites to give shots to patients in lower tiers if those sites have no upper-tier vaccinations scheduled. This is to make sure all vaccines are used in a more efficient manner, Stack said.

"We're still going to prioritize and start at the top of the pyramid every week. We're going to ask every site, schedule your vaccine for people who are at the highest tiers, but the goal is not to have it wait and hang over until the next week. It's to administer it, use it, and then when you get the next shipment, start over again," Stack said.

Health officials are still working on vaccination site plans, locations and an appointment scheduling system, Stack said.

COVID-19 positivity rate jumps

Kentucky's COVID-19 positivity rate rose to 11.18% Monday, up from 8.41% last week. Beshear attributed the "concerning" jump in virus positivity to more asymptomatic cases and cases spreading at Christmas gatherings, though it is still too early to tell if New Year's gatherings will have a similar effect.

The governor reported 2,319 new coronavirus cases and 26 virus-related deaths on Monday, including two people from Boone County, four women and a man from Campbell County, two men in Grant County, and seven people from Kenton County.

Since March, 279,143 COVID-19 cases and 2,749 virus-related deaths have been reported in Kentucky.

Hospitalizations increased Monday, with 1,737 Kentuckians currently hospitalized for COVID-19, 456 people in intensive care units and 216 on ventilators.

The state's coronavirus fatality rate, the proportion of people who die out of people who test positive for the virus, remains at 0.99%.

Using the state's contact tracing database, NKY Health reports 2,728 active coronavirus cases in Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties, and 21,306 people have recovered from the virus as of Monday. Since the pandemic began, 167 Northern Kentuckians have died from the virus.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Officials in Kentucky announced that efforts to identify positive COVID-19 cases and contacts may have prevented the virus from spreading to roughly 54,000 Kentuckians.

Mark Carter, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services advisor who has spearheaded Kentucky's contact tracing efforts, estimates that quarantining and contact tracing have prevented more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 400 deaths.

Contact tracing, which identifies people who may have been in contact with a person infected with COVID-19, began in Kentucky last May.

Through Kentucky's process, about 167,000 people who tested COVID-positive successfully isolated, and nearly one-third of those people were contacted within 24 hours of a positive test result. About 57% of all Kentuckians who were potentially exposed successfully quarantined, Carter said.

Due to data limitations, Carter said Tuesday's figures are a conservative estimate. Carter explained that the reasons behind those limitations include decentralized public health systems, delayed adoption of contact tracing by local health departments, lack of surge support, underreported cases and contacts as well as politicization of contact tracing.

Carter said the state has added about 1,200 contact tracing staff over the last seven months, with 60 local health departments using the state's contact tracing system. With a $78 million budget from federal funds, these efforts have spent $47.7 million so far.

Virus positivity rate rising in Kentucky

Gov. Andy Beshear reported 1,781 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest Tuesday number in several weeks, as well as 23 virus-related deaths statewide. Tuesday's report included a 95-year-old woman from Kenton County.

Kentucky's COVID-19 positivity rate rose again to 11.36% Tuesday, up from 8.41% last week. Beshear attributed the "concerning" jump in virus positivity to more asymptomatic cases and cases spreading at Christmas gatherings, though it is still too early to tell if New Year's gatherings will have a similar effect.

Despite the surging positivity rate, the governor said Kentucky's K-12 schools should still be able to resume in-person classes on Monday, as long as they follow the executive order on capacity and accommodations for at-risk staff.

Since March, 280,836 COVID-19 cases and 2,772 virus-related deaths have been reported in Kentucky.

Hospitalizations increased Tuesday, with 1,760 Kentuckians currently hospitalized for COVID-19, 430 people in intensive care units and 215 on ventilators. The state's coronavirus fatality rate, the proportion of people who die out of people who test positive for the virus, sits at 0.98%.

Using the state's contact tracing database, NKY Health reports 2,788 active coronavirus cases in Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties, and 21,506 people have recovered from the virus as of Tuesday. Since the pandemic began, 167 Northern Kentuckians have died from the virus.

Who's next in line for vaccines?

Kentucky expects to work through the end of January to finish vaccinating long-term care residents and staff as well as frontline health care workers in "Phase 1a." People age 70 and older, first responders and K-12 school personnel will be vaccinated next in "Phase 1b," and that could start by February.

The state announced the remaining vaccine phases Monday: Phase 1c includes anyone age 60 and older, anyone 16 and older with a high-risk medical condition, and all essential workers; Phase 2 includes anyone over age 40; Phase 3 includes anyone older than 16; Phase 4 includes children under 16, provided that the FDA approves a vaccine for children.

"I want to get this vaccine to all of you who want it as quickly as we can. I wish I could tell you it’s going to be tomorrow, but we’re going to make it happen," Beshear said Tuesday.

Kentucky was allocated about 202,000 COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna in December, with another 101,000 doses expected to arrive in the first two weeks of January.

As of Tuesday, Kentucky has administered about 66,500 first vaccine doses. To be fully vaccinated, patients must receive an initial dose followed by a booster dose weeks later.

Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said sites will be asked to administer 90% of all vaccines received within seven days of arrival, and to vaccinate "more than half of every interested Kentuckian" by June. To do this, Kentucky will allow vaccination sites to give shots to patients in lower tiers if those sites have no upper-tier vaccinations scheduled.

Health officials are still working on vaccination site plans, locations and an appointment scheduling system, Stack said.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:

More than 90,000 Americans could die of COVID-19 in the next three weeks, according to new predictions from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is occurring as the United States has just surpassed 392,000 deaths, with the country shattering the record of over 4,000 deaths per day for two days last week.

The numbers are sobering. Public health experts have sounded the alarm for months that even with the great promise of vaccines on the horizon, there are dark days ahead, with the worst of the pandemic potentially yet to come.

What do these projections mean? We talked to CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, to learn how people can make sense of the numbers and what can be done to change the trajectory of the pandemic.

CNN: The CDC is predicting over 90,000 deaths over three weeks. Can those numbers be right?

Wen: Unfortunately, yes. We are averaging between 3,000 and 4,000 deaths every single day from COVID-19. To get to that awful number of 90,000 deaths in three weeks, that's about 4,300 deaths per day. With rising infections and hospitalizations, it's almost certain that we will also see a steady uptick in the daily death rate.

This is so tragic, and I hope that we do not become numb to these numbers. Each person is someone's grandparent, parent, spouse, child or friend.

CNN: Is there anything we can do about this terrible trend?

Wen: There isn't very much we can do about the trajectory of deaths that we will see in the next three weeks. That's because of the lag time: It typically takes a week or so between the time that someone is exposed and when they show symptoms, then another week or so to become ill enough to be hospitalized, then days to weeks before someone were to succumb to the disease.

The people we could see dying in the next two or three weeks are those who have already been exposed to coronavirus, possibly during the December holiday season. The best that can be done is for these individuals to seek prompt medical care and to receive the best care possible to treat their illness, but it's too late to prevent them from getting infected.

That's not the case for all the people who haven't been infected yet. There is a big difference between modeling for a weather forecast and modeling for an infectious disease. You may be able to predict the path of a hurricane and then get out of that path, but you can't change where the hurricane goes. That's different with a pandemic. The future is not preordained. Our individual and collective actions now are what determine how much the virus spreads.

We've been talking about basic public health measures for months now, and they are still our best guard against this very contagious respiratory illness. Keeping physical distance — because this virus requires close contact. Being outdoors is better than indoors — because outdoor air disperses virus particles. Wearing a mask — that can prevent transmitting and acquiring coronavirus. Avoiding crowded gatherings — and knowing that more than half of transmission (according to the CDC) is by people who don't have symptoms and who may be infected but not know it. Washing our hands frequently and well.

These measures are additive. The more you do, the more consistently, the better you're protected. Our individual actions protect us and those around us. They also protect the community, by lowering the spread of coronavirus and helping to reduce the strain on our overwhelmed hospitals and public health systems. Collectively, our actions help to change the trajectory of the disease and are key to stopping this escalating surge.

CNN: Why do you think the numbers keep climbing? Is it that people are just tired of following these precautions?

Wen: That's certainly a part of it. Pandemic fatigue is very real. We need to acknowledge it. Yes, there are some people who don't believe coronavirus is real and may be flouting masking and social distancing guidelines. However, I think a lot of people have tried very hard to follow precautions but are finding this increasingly difficult not to see loved ones. They may be letting down their guard, and there can be tragic consequences.

Another reason is that people may be misunderstanding what the arrival of the vaccines mean. There is such limited supply, and distribution of vaccines has been much slower than we would have liked. Many people will not have access to the vaccines for months. Even those who have had the vaccine may still be able to spread the virus to others.

Don't get me wrong — the vaccines will be a game changer when enough people can get vaccinated. It's incredible that we have safe and highly efficacious vaccines. But they are not what's going to get us out of this very dangerous surge. What will get us out are these public health measures.

I wish there were an easier way out. I think everyone would want that, and I know that everyone is tired and wish that this pandemic could end. But we need to continue to be vigilant and keep up our guard.

CNN: President-elect Joe Biden said he's going to ask for 100 days of mask wearing. Will that make a difference?

Wen: Yes. An influential model by the University of Washington shows that mask wearing can save 30,000 lives between now and March. That's really remarkable. President-elect Biden has talked about masks as a patriotic duty, a way for us to show respect for one another. We should be wearing masks any time we are outside and cannot keep 6 feet apart from others, and any time we are inside with those not in our immediate family.

Not having gatherings, indoors, with anyone we don't live with will also make a huge difference. In many parts of the country, what's driving the latest surge are these indoor gatherings — think dinner parties and game nights. It's in these intimate settings that people are letting down their guard and getting infected.

I understand why people want to get together with their extended family and friends. The weather is cold, and it's hard to see one another outdoors. However, our loved ones are just as likely to be asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 as strangers. We need to be extremely careful and only have outdoor or virtual visits with those not in our immediate household.

CNN: With many new coronavirus infections, does that impact how people should think about grocery shopping or other basic activities?

Wen: When there are high rates of coronavirus in the community, it makes all our activities higher risk. The activities that were low risk before are higher risk. That's because there are just so many people around us who are carrying coronavirus, and the chance of encountering someone — and being infected by them — just becomes higher.

I'm seeing more patients who have no idea where they contracted the coronavirus. There is a familiar story: They have been so careful to quarantine and not expose themselves to risk. Maybe all they're doing is going to work in environments that require masks and distancing, or maybe only exposures they have are through grocery shopping and running errands.

There is just so much coronavirus around us that the same activities that were pretty safe a few months ago are just riskier now. That means we need to be even more vigilant. If you were going grocery shopping once a week, consider reducing it to once every two weeks. If you are particularly vulnerable to severe disease, consider having your groceries delivered. Be even more attentive if you have to take the subway or bus to get to work. Of course, wear a mask at all times (at least a three-ply surgical mask). Again, make sure that you do not get together indoor with people, even your close friends.

CNN: Is there hope coming in the spring? Will warmer weather help?

Wen: It's hard to know for sure. Coronavirus spreads more in cold weather. Warmer weather also means that people are going to be able to see one another outdoors more, and that can alleviate some of the loneliness people are feeling while also being safe. As we get into spring, more people are going to be able to be vaccinated, too, and that will also be protective.

That means we have to hang in there just a little bit longer. There is hope on the horizon, but we do have some difficult weeks and months ahead. We can get through it, with optimism and caution.

Early next month, the first Grand Slam of the 2021 tennis season will be held Down Under, but with coronavirus concerns, there were questions on whether the event would even be held.

With Australia among the few nations in the world having largely defeated the virus, the tournament is not only set to get underway, but the stands will be relatively full.

According to ABC News (Australia), 25,000 to 30,000 fans will be permitted daily on the grounds of the Australian Open. While this will be somewhat fewer than previous years, the expectation is the atmosphere will be roughly the same.

"That means on Rod Laver Arena, as we get to the end of the tournament, we'll have an incredible atmosphere, not that different to the atmosphere we've seen in all the opens in years past," Victoria minister for sport Martin Pakula told ABC.

"It will not be the same as the last few years, but it will be the most significant international event with crowds that the world has seen for many, many months," he added.

In order to get to this point, players were forced to quarantine in hotel rooms, which caused disruptions to training schedules. As those quarantines are starting to be lifted, some players participated in exhibition matches on Friday in Adelaide, Australia.

The stands for the exhibition matches were largely full of maskless fans. The reason why is that Australia has gone more than two weeks without a local case of the coronavirus. Australia has had 909 coronavirus-related deaths. Adjusted for population, the US has had more than 35 times the number of deaths

Meanwhile, most NHL and NBA teams in the US and Canada have not hosted fans this season. The ones that have only have allowed a fraction of their normal attendance.

Before being able to nearly relax all of its coronavirus protocols, Australia had some of the strictest mitigation efforts in the world. That was illustrated during July when a party prompted a police response, and $18,000 in fines.