For the sixth straight week, COVID-19 cases declined in Kentucky. Governor Andy Beshear reported the key statistics during his Monday news conference. He said the data shows “generally good news,” but a slight increase in those already vaccinated now contracting breakthrough cases shows that boosters are important.

Kentucky reported 8,603 new coronavirus cases. Before a decline that began six weeks ago, doctors diagnosed more than 30,000 cases in a single week.

The total number of hospitalizations, patients in intensive care units (ICUs) and those on ventilators continue to decline. Currently, 772 remain hospitalized, with 249 in ICUs, and 138 on a ventilator. The positivity rate stands at 5.03%.

Beshear announced 48 deaths from Saturday to Monday. He expects the number of deaths to trail behind other declining statistics.

Although Kentucky appears to be headed in a promising direction, more cases are occurring in fully vaccinated patients. These breakthrough cases still make up a minority of those diagnosed or hospitalized. However, Beshear said the percentage of those vaccinated and hospitalized had stood at 8% for months, but now those patients represent 16% of those hospitalized with the virus.

Beshear insisted that is why vaccinated Kentuckians should considera booster. “It is critical that everybody gets out there and get that booster because, for every month that is going by, we are seeing more vaccinated people by percentage of overall cases and hospitalizations increase.”