FRANKFORT, KY (WOWK) – Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says COVID-19 numbers are dropping in the Bluegrass State.

Beshear says the state reported a total of 25,173 new cases of the virus last week, bringing the total back down below peak-Delta variant numbers. According to the governor, this is the fourth straight week of declining weekly cases in the state.

According to the Kentucky Department for Public Health, the state’s latest update today Monday, Feb. 21 included new 969 cases and 21 deaths, bringing Kentucky to a total of 1,264,329 cases and 13,647 deaths throughout the pandemic. The governor says this is one of the lowest days for newly reported cases since December.

As of this afternoon’s update, health officials reported 1,333 Kentuckians were hospitalized with COVID-19 with 270 patients in the ICU and 141 on ventilators.

The state’s positivity rate is currently 12.74% with 98 counties in red on the state’s current incidence rate map.

Despite the overall decline in numbers, the governor says deaths are still high, with more younger Kentuckians who are unvaccinated dying from the virus. Beshear called these deaths “avoidable.”

He also added that while the state’s positivity rate is down significantly from the recent rates surpassing 30%, the current rate is still high and urges Kentuckians not to put down their guards just yet and to continue using precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.