The Bell County Health Department reported no new COVID-19 cases for the third day in a row on Monday.

The total of cases in Bell County stood at 3,076 on Monday, with one person currently hospitalized due to the virus. There were 11 active cases in Bell County. An additional death was reported on Friday, putting the number of COVID-19 related deaths in Bell County at 45.

According to the state’s website at Kentucky.gov, on Monday Governor Andy Beshear announced the state will transition to the federal COVID-19 vaccination reporting system.

“We’re also going to start showing on our daily report the top five counties with the highest vaccination rates, as well as our bottom five counties by vaccination rate,” said Gov. Beshear. “To our top five counties: Good job. Keep it up. There is still so much more to do. To our bottom five counties:

Let’s work even harder because we want everybody to be protected.”

Beshear also announced 1,833,652 people in Kentucky have been administered at least the first dose of one of the available COVID-19 vaccines. On Monday, Beshear reported 313 new cases. The state’s positivity rate was 3.45 percent.

Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Public Health Dr. Steven Stack encouraged anyone who has not yet received a vaccination to sign up for an appointment and get one, according to Kentucky.gov.

“Kentucky is performing very well on COVID-19 vaccinations relative to states in our region and the nation overall,” said Dr. Stack. “We’re outperforming every state south of us, from Texas to Florida. And, we are still outperforming five of our seven border states. But we can’t slow down. As countries like India and Brazil languish with thousands of deaths daily and collapsing health systems, it’s important that we do not get complacent and that more people continue to make the choice to get vaccinated.”

The Bell County Health Department recommends the following steps to help slow the spread of COVID 19: • Wash hands with soap and water before eating, after blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing, or after using the restroom;

• Avoid contact with people who are sick;

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth;

• Wear a mask when in public and social distancing is difficult.