Kentucky has lost more than 17,000 people to COVID-19, which has killed more Kentuckians than World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War. This burden has been much heavier in some counties – the highest death rate in the county is five times lower.
Using death rates as a measure of which counties have handled the pandemic best so far, Jefferson County came out on top with just under 2.03 deaths per 1,000 population.
Jefferson, the most populous county in the state, is followed by five counties with death rates below 2.6 per 1,000: Fayette (2.07), Scott (2.09), Woodford (2.09 ), Campbell (2.15), Clark (2.21), Oldham (2.34), Meade (2.34), Boone (2.47) and Calloway (2.59).
According to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard, Madison County has had a total of 33,312 positive cases and 300 deaths, a death rate of 3.22 per 1,000 population. The county has a population of approximately 92,701.
The county with the most COVID-19 deaths per 1,000 population is Robertson, with a death rate of 10.43. The county’s rate and ranking is not statistically sound, since the county’s population is only 2,108. There have been 22 deaths from COVID-19, meaning the disease has killed just over 1% of its population.
Other counties with the highest Covid-19 death rates were Harlan (8.5 per 1,000), Monroe (8.0), Perry (7.8), Lee (7.5), Metcalfe (7, 3) and Owsley (7.2). All of these counties and Robertson are within the officially recognized Appalachian region of the state.
As Kentucky settles into a phase of life with the novel coronavirus, it’s important to remember that between 60 and 80 Kentuckians still die each week from COVID-19.
“We’re going to deal with this grief for years to come,” Governor Andy Beshear said at a recent press conference.
The Beshear administration is working to place a COVID-19 memorial on the grounds of the state Capitol to honor those lost to the pandemic.