12 new Kentucky coronavirus cases found. Second person dies. All gatherings banned.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order Thursday banning all gatherings, including church services, to help slow the state’s growing number of COVID-19 cases.
“We can’t be doing that anywhere,” Beshear said of gathering in groups. “All gatherings where people come together are closed.”
The governor also announced a second Kentuckian has died from COVID-19-related causes, and confirmed 12 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the state’s total to 47.
The 64-year-old male from Jefferson County, died on March 13, “but the testing has now come back,” Beshear said in an afternoon Capitol news conference.
Beshear said new cases of the viral respiratory illness included a 6-year-old in Jefferson County.
The cases, which range in adult age from 27 to 73, are spread across Jefferson, Fayette, Christian, Harrison, Daviess, Henderson, Warren, Pulaski and Kenton counties.
“This is one of those times where we’re going to have to breathe a little bit,” Beshear said. “We know we’re going to see new cases every day.”
The Christian County case is a 61-year-old woman, who is now in self-isolation and “experiencing mild symptoms,” Christian County Public Health Director Kayla Bebout said in a Thursday afternoon news conference, adding that the woman’s test was processed by a commercial lab. Beshear said there are now eight labs across Kentucky capable of processing COVID-19 tests.
The other two western Kentucky cases — a 51-year-old male in Daviess County and a 63-year-old woman in neighboring Henderson county — are unrelated, Clay Horton, public health director for the Green River District Health Department said in another local news conference. Both individuals had a recent travel history, he said, and were self-isolating at home.
Demographics of the other diagnosed cases include a 27-year-old woman in Clark County, a 73-year-old man in Warren County, a 59-year-old woman in Pulaski County, and a 45-year-old woman and 46-year-old woman in Jefferson County.
There have been at least 21 new cases diagnosed in the last two days. So far, at least 639 people have been tested in Kentucky for the virus, according to the state’s tally.
Beshear’s latest executive order follows a directive he handed down earlier this month strongly requesting all community gatherings, including religious services, to cease. His announcement on Thursday codifies that request, but he said violators likely won’t face punitive measures.
“We don’t want to issue penalties ... that’s not the right thing to do,” said Beshear, who asked church leaders to “do their duty” and cancel in-person services. For others who see church leaders failing to heed this order, “ask them nicely” to stop, he said.
“Any group that gets together in violation of the order is going to spread the coronavirus, and what that does is it puts our most vulnerable at risk,” Beshear said.
The governor also shot down rumors that the Kentucky National Guard is preparing to enforce a statewide lockdown.
“Folks, there’s nothing remotely like that,” he said. “When you hear those things, breathe. You can always get the right information from me or by our website.”
“Make sure you have good sources of news, [and] good sources of news aren’t sources that scare you, they’re sources that inform you,” he said.
Beshear has called on all Kentuckians to practice aggressive social distancing, to work from home if possible, and to curb as much as possible all social and professional interactions. The governor has enacted a series of social restrictions to help prevent spread of the virus, including closing all gyms, movie theaters, concert venues, community recreation centers, asking churches to cancel services, ordering the end of in-person dining and drinking at restaurants and bars, closing all government offices to in-person activities, and closing child care centers.
Since child care centers are closed but many people, including those in the public sector, are still working, Beshear said Thursday he would extend child care exemptions to some of those workers, including law enforcement, firefighters, corrections officers and Department for Community Based Services workers.
Kentucky residents can call the state coronavirus hotline — 1-800-722-5725 — for advice about when to seek medical treatment. Those with symptoms of coronavirus — cough, fever and difficulty breathing — are strongly urged to call the hotline or their physician before visiting a doctor.
Visit Kentucky’s coronavirus website, kycovid19.ky.gov, for more guidance about the disease.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 5:35 PM.
