LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear said coronavirus cases are rising at a troubling pace in the Commonwealth.

What You Need To Know

  • Kentucky seeing record numbers of positive COVID cases

  • Expert at UofL says numbers start to climb the more things open up

  • Increased numbers being seen on college campuses

  • Largest increases coming from family and friend gatherings

Last week marked a record for new cases reported, with this week on pace to potentially pass that.

UofL School of Medicine Vice Dean of Research, Dr. Jon Klein, said we have seen this cycle before, both in Kentucky and across the country. When cases started to plateau, states started the reopening process. Once things opened back up, numbers started to climb once again.

"It’s the nature of pandemic spread that in the beginning, when you shut down totally, you see less spread. Then, when we loosen up that shutdown and rely more on these social distancing and mask principles and when people aren’t doing them, we start to see the scenes that we are starting to see again,” Klein said.

The difference this time is that the number of new cases is higher than ever before, lingering around 1,00 new cases a day. Klein said, that creates a cause for concern.

“When you look at that plateau we just saw of the daily case counts, it is really very high going into what we know is going to be a very likely surge during the colder, winter months. We are heading into the next surge at a much higher point than we did back in May," Klein said. "It is important to understand our risk for a very large outbreak is much greater now than it was back then.”

The latest numbers have many Kentuckians asking what is leading to this spread. Were people around too many others during the Kentucky Derby? Is this because some schools are starting to reopen? Is the spread at bars and restaurants? Klein said, those may play a role, but contact tracing points more towards spread between friends and family.

“If you go to some states, which have a lot of universities and colleges, most of the new cases are from college and university campuses. That is contributing a little bit in the state of Kentucky," Klein said. "It’s somewhat contributing, but the contact tracing data we have in Louisville seems to indicate this is primarily family spread from congregate living and congregate gatherings."

Klein continues to stress the usual social distancing and mask guidelines. He said how the virus plays out from here will all depend on what Kentuckians do to protect one another.