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Harlan has seen an increase in the number of new Covid-19 cases over the last month, however the trend seems to be heading down as of the last week.

According to the Harlan County Health Department, there were 73 new cases reported from June 27-July 3. This is down from the previous week’s total of 89 cases recorded between June 20-26. The week spanning June, 13, through June, 19, saw a total of 40 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the county. From June 6-12, Harlan County recorded a total of 36 new cases. There were also 36 new cases recorded from May 3-June 5.

Governor Andy Beshear provided a Covid-19 update for Kentucky on June30, and he stated the state’s numbers may have leveled off.

According to Beshear, which can be found at www.kentucky.gov, Kentucky has seen a slight plateau in new COVID-19 cases, as 9,579 cases were reported in the state from June 21-27. On June 26, the state’s positivity rate reached 13.36 percent. The rate of hospitalizations, the number of individuals in ICU as well as people on a ventilator due to COVID-19 have increased moderately. However, this increase is not expected to be ongoing.

The state’s weekly Covid-19 report released on July 4, states there were 10,191 new cases recorded during the previous week. There were 38 COVID-19 related deaths recorded during that time period. As of July, 4, there were 405 people hospitalized across the state due to COVID-19, with 49 people in ICU and 23 individuals on ventilators.

The state’s positivity rate was 15.75 percent as of Monday.

The Harlan County Health Department asks for Harlan Countians to follow the guidance for Covid-19 from the Kentucky Department of Public Health. These guidelines are to get vaccinated, keep up to date with vaccine boosters, isolate when sick or testing positive for COVID-19, and consider targeted mask use if high risk or following exposure to the virus.