Coronavirus-related hospitalizations in Kentucky have dropped in recent days, leaving state officials hopeful the new month will be much better than September, when the delta variant ravaged the state.

Statewide hospitalizations and patients in intensive care units due to COVID-19 decreased in the past seven days based on a “rolling average,” Gov. Andy Beshear said.

“This is now enough of a trend to say we are in a decline, and we hope it continues for people hospitalized because of COVID,” the governor said.

Kentucky was hard hit by a prolonged coronavirus surge, with virus cases, hospitalizations and deaths rising dramatically as the highly contagious delta variant spread. On Wednesday, the governor said that COVID-19 cases were continuing to level off.

“Knock on wood, folks, hopefully October is much, much better than September,” Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner, said Thursday.

But the governor warned that virus-related hospitalizations remain far too high.

“If we went back a month and a half, where we are right now would rightfully scare the heck out of us,” Beshear said. “So let’s make sure that that decline continues.”

The state’s death toll from COVID-19 also continues to climb steadily. On Wednesday, the governor reported 82 more virus-related deaths in Kentucky.