This week marked three years since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Kentucky.
The first confirmed COVID case in Kentucky was March 6, 2020, although it is widely believed there were infections in the state before that date.
Kentucky Department of Public Health data shows that more than 8,400 Russell Countians have contracted the virus since March 2020, with that number believed to be much higher due to the availability of at-home tests, in which positive results are often not reported to the health department.
Data also shows right at 100 COVID-related deaths in Russell County since the pandemic began.
Just this week, the Kentucky Department for Public Health changed the way COVID-19 data is displayed on their website, as interactive dashboards can now be found by clicking here. New data appears to focus more on case incidence rates than hospitalization rates around the state or the current positivity rate.