Protesters disrupt Beshear as he announces 7 new COVID-19 deaths and 88 new cases
Speaking over the muffled shouts of a few dozen protesters outside the Capitol, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday brought another 88 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky, and the virus played a role in seven more deaths.
At least 50 other positive cases were confirmed Wednesday that weren’t factored into the day’s official number of new cases but would be added Thursday as the state transitions to a new reporting system, he said. The official statewide COVID-19 totals are now at least 2,291 cases and 122 deaths.
The governor said he will continue working with Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and Indiana Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to formulate a plan for how the states will coordinate and “eventually ease restrictions and open up the economy.” But it’s imperative, Beshear said, that Kentucky eases those restrictions “thoughtfully, to make sure we do not see a reemergence of this virus.”
Beshear reminded people, “this coronavirus is incredibly contagious. It is all around this commonwealth. It is in every county, whether we’ve had a report or not.”
It’s crucial for Kentuckians to behave as if “all of us already have this virus,” he said. “If we act like we have it, then if we’re asymptomatic and do have it, we won’t be spreading it to others.”
‘We want to work’
Tensions from some Kentuckians frustrated with the state’s social distancing mandates started to flare publicly this week, more than a month after Kentucky diagnosed its first case. Late Wednesday afternoon, outside the State Capitol where Beshear was giving his daily news conference, dozens of people gathered, many disregarding the recommended buffer of six feet, protesting the governor’s social distancing mandates and demanding businesses reopen.
Some protesters shouted into megaphones and blew horns, while others waved American flags and held up handwritten signs. One protester’s sign read, “King Beshear, let my people go!” Their chants, which included, “Reopen Kentucky”, “Liberty is essential” and “We want to work,” could be heard on the video feed of the governor’s news conference..
Beshear acknowledged he heard the protesters, saying, “everybody should be able to express their opinion,” but, “Hopefully [the protesters] are distanced from each other ... no one should be engaged in a mass gathering,” he said. “If they’re not social distancing, they’re spreading the coronavirus, and that’s really concerning.”
Beshear said he knows some people think he should acquiesce and open businesses early, but he said that isn’t happening yet: “folks, that would kill people. It would absolutely kill people.”
“There will always be people who object,” he said. “My job isn’t to make the popular decision, but the right decision.”
39 more nursing home residents test positive
In Fayette County, where no one has died from COVID-19 complications in more than a week, only three new cases of novel coronavirus were confirmed on Wednesday, for a total of 212. Meanwhile, cases are climbing more rapidly in Louisville, where Mayor Greg Fischer said another 64 have been infected and six more have died.
In Kentucky’s long-term care facilities, 39 more residents tested positive Wednesday for the virus, as well as another 10 staff members. Three more nursing home residents died, Beshear said. That brings the state’s nursing home totals to 256 COVID-19 cases among residents, 137 cases among staff and 37 deaths.
“Every time there’s an opportunity for more contacts, every time people engage in a mass gathering, what happens is it’s more likely that this gets into our nursing homes,” he said.
Beshear also announced that his Team Kentucky Fund, a pot of money managed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services for Kentuckians who’ve been severely financially impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, has raised $1.9 million so far. More than 7,000 people have contributed, including a $1 million donation by The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.
Visit Kentucky’s coronavirus website, kycovid19.ky.gov, for more guidance about the disease.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 5:59 PM.
