24 new Kentucky coronavirus cases found Saturday. 3rd death confirmed. Total is 87.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 24 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky Saturday, bringing the statewide total to at least 87 people with the novel coronavirus.
He also announced the third coronavirus-related death in Kentucky, a 67-year-old man from Anderson County. Nationally, more than 24,000 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed by Saturday afternoon. Of those, 285 had died.
“While we’re being aggressive in how we’re cutting our social contacts, there is still, in a pandemic, an increase in cases as the virus spreads,” Beshear said. “So we should be ready to see more cases, we should know they’re coming.”
At least two of the new cases are in Fayette County — a 51-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman — bringing the total in Lexington to 12, the second highest number of cases in the state after Louisville. Beshear also announced new cases in Jefferson, Warren, Spencer, Madison, Harrison, Menifee, Breathitt and Kenton Counties. There were six new cases announced in the Green River Health District, which covers Daviess, Henderson and Hancock Counties.
Beshear said a 6-year-old who had recently tested positive for the disease has been released from the hospital. Cases of people younger than 19 being hospitalized have proven to be very rare with COVID-19.
The positive tests in Menifee and Breathitt are the first in Eastern Kentucky, but Beshear said officials believe the person in Breathitt was visiting family and resides in another state.
In the past week, more private laboratories have begun testing for COVID-19, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of people who are testing positive with the respiratory disease. Beshear said Friday there were at least 8 labs processing tests from patients in the state. The University of Kentucky is still working to set up a testing lab, he said.
Beshear said it’s now very difficult to count how many people have been tested in Kentucky. He believes it is at least 1,000 and may be as high as 1,500.
“Those are numbers that we don’t have and we’re working to get them,” Beshear said. “It’s one of those things we see happen because of a good thing out there.”
Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner, said hair dressers, house cleaners and other people who offer in-home services should avoid making house calls. He compared it to a honey bee going flower to flower.
“You can’t do in-house services because you’ll be pollinating the disease,” Stack said.
Beshear acknowledged there is a severe shortage of personal protective equipment in Kentucky — a problem that appears to be nationwide — putting health care workers at increased risk as more and more patients visit doctor’s offices and hospitals
Lexington recently received a shipment of millions of masks, faceshields, gowns and gloves from the federal and state stockpile, but local health care providers say it will not be enough. An anesthesiologist in Danville was quoted in a New York Times article saying she doesn’t have the proper equipment to protect herself or her patients.
The Democratic governor also said the federal government has approved Kentucky’s application to let small businesses apply for disaster loans. Businesses can apply for loans of up to $2 million at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
Beshear again dismissed rumors about the implications of a potential future “shelter in place” order. He said any steps taken in the future would be about limiting direct interactions with others and would still allow people to go to the grocery store or take a walk.
He said he has already taken aggressive measures that are covered in the “shelter in place” orders other states have issued, such as shutting down bars and restaurants to in-person service and closing business where large groups of people gather.
“What we’ve done is talk about it in a more responsible way about what it really means to your daily life, and hopefully talk about it in a way that is more empathetic,” Beshear said.
Kentucky residents can call the state coronavirus hotline — 1-800-722-5725 — for advice about when to seek medical treatment. He said people who call should have symptoms of coronavirus — cough, fever and difficulty breathing. Those who are just nervous about the disease should not call the hotline, he said.
Visit Kentucky’s coronavirus website, kycovid19.ky.gov, for more guidance about the disease.
This story was originally published March 21, 2020 at 5:28 PM.
