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Gov. Andy Beshear encouraged all Kentuckians 16 and older to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment, as the number of new cases saw a significant jump on Wednesday.

There were 785 new cases reported, compared to 609 on Tuesday, bringing the total amount of positive cases during the pandemic to 438,927.

The top 10 counties were Jefferson 117; Fayette 49; Boone 48; Warren 34; Clark 27; Kenton 21; McCracken 19; with Henderson, Laurel, and Morgan each having 18.

“As we can see from today’s case numbers, this virus isn’t going away on its own,” said Gov. Beshear. “We have to come together to stop it. Hundreds of Kentuckians are still getting sick every day. Our people are still dying from COVID-19. But we have the power to defeat this pandemic now, and the way we can do that is by choosing to get vaccinated.”

He wants the state to reach the 2.5 million vaccine Team Kentucky Vaccination Challenge aimed at lowering infections, saving lives, and ending this pandemic. Beshear says when the 2.5 million vaccine goal is reached, the state will lift most capacity restrictions on many Kentucky businesses. Currently, 1,682,774 Kentuckians have received at least one dose.

Kentuckians can visit vaccinemap.ky.gov to find a COVID-19 vaccination site near where they live.

Seven new deaths were reported from local health departments, as well as six from the ongoing audit of death certificates issued last fall and winter. This raises the number of Kentuckians lost to the coronavirus to 6,373.

Of the latest deaths, two were from Jefferson County, with one each from Allen, Boone, Henderson, Jessamine, and Leslie counties. Among the audit deaths, there were two from Jefferson County, while Calloway, Christian, Russell, and Taylor counties reported one apiece. All the victims were from 62 to 91 years old.

The state’s positivity rate was 3.39% on Wednesday, based on a seven-day rolling average of testing, marking a third straight day of decline.

To see Kentucky’s full daily COVID-19 report, go to kycovid19.ky.gov.