Kentucky has 171 new coronavirus cases, bringing total to 3,905. Five deaths reported Saturday.
Kentucky has 171 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the state’s total up to at least 3,905, Gov. Andy Beshear said on Saturday.
Saturday’s number of new cases was notably lower than Friday’s single-day record of 322 — a point the governor said may indicate that Kentucky is at the beginning of its decline, though it will take several days’ worth of data to prove whether that’s indeed the case.
“These are better numbers, and what that means is we still think we are plateaued, or we’re somewhere in the very top part of that curve,” the governor said. “It’s [still] a dangerous time, but we could be potentially starting our decline, we’ve just got to see a couple days’ worth of data.”
Long-term care facilities continue to be hot spots of infection across Kentucky, and that trend continued this weekend, with the deaths of five more senior residents from Adair, Graves and Jefferson counties, Beshear said. Twenty-four new senior residents also tested positive for the virus, as have another five staff. The state’s overall death toll is now 205, 94 of whom were senior living home residents, the governor said.
Saturday’s new confirmed cases also included 33 in Jefferson County, 20 in Graves County, 19 in Warren County and 9 in Fayette County.
In total, 46,558 people have been tested, 301 are currently hospitalized with the virus, 164 are in intensive care units, and 1,501 have recovered.
During Beshear’s news conference on Saturday, a few dozen people gathered in the rain outside the Capitol to demand he reopen the economy. It’s at least the second time people protesting Beshear’s coronavirus restrictions have amassed at the Capitol since Kentucky diagnosed its first case of COVID-19 in early March.
Beshear reminded Kentuckians that even though some targeted health care services restrictions are going to begin reopening on Monday, April 27, the general public must stay diligent in remaining healthy at home.
“Just because we see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Beshear said, “doesn’t mean we can engage in crowds and gatherings yet.” Doing so, he said, could set reopening efforts back “days or weeks.”
“Our goal here has to be to do this right,” Beshear said of reopening safely. “If we don’t do this right, and we have a second spike, we end up with more economic damage,” he said, adding that when those decisions are made will be “the difference between life and death.”
Visit Kentucky’s coronavirus website, kycovid19.ky.gov, for more guidance about the disease and testing options.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 6:00 PM.
