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Last week, new coronavirus cases in Kentucky dropped 20 percent from the week before, but deaths from COVID-19 increased again.

The state Department for Public Health attributed 66 more deaths to COVID-19 last week, up from 47 the week before and 13 the week before that. The state’s pandemic death toll is now 18,243.

The state reports there were 2,044 new cases of the coronavirus last week, or 292 cases per day. That’s a drop from 2,572 the week before.

The weekly new case rate was 6.17 cases per 100,000 people, down a bit from 6.39 the week before. The top 10 counties were Bath, 18.29 cases per 100,000; Rockcastle, 16.26; Lyon, 13.92; Powell, 13.87; Hopkins, 11.83; Webster, 11.04; Mason, 10.04; Wolfe, 9.98; Hardin, 9.91; and Fleming, 9.8.

The New York Times ranks Kentucky’s case rate 12th among the states, with a 41% drop in cases in the last two weeks.