Kentucky coronavirus still on the plateau. 174 new cases and 5 deaths. 4,708 total.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 174 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky Thursday, bringing the state’s total to 4,708 on the last day of a month that brought a fairly steady daily increase in new cases and deaths.
“For about the past three weeks, we’ve been in generally the same area,” Beshear said. “That is good news when we look at something that would otherwise spread more quickly.”
There were 4,028 cases of the coronavirus confirmed in Kentucky during April and 220 deaths. Currently, there are 330 people in the hospital, 178 of which are in intensive care. At least 1,675 people have recovered from the virus.
Lexington — where there have been 253 cases — has been relatively spared by the virus. As of Wednesday, Fayette County had the 33rd lowest case rate of any county in the state. The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department announced eight new cases Thursday. Kentucky’s second largest city has been surpassed in total cases by both Warren County and Kenton County.
Beshear also announced five new deaths Thursday, bringing the state’s death toll to 240. The governor announced two new deaths in nursing homes, which have accounted for 51 percent of the total deaths in Kentucky.
At least 727 residents in nursing homes across the state have tested positive for the virus and 307 staff members have tested positive for the virus.
Another hot spot has been the Green River Correctional Facility in Muhlenberg County. Beshear has said everyone in the prison will be tested by Friday. There have been 65 confirmed cases of the virus in the prison and two people have died, according to the Muhlenberg County Health Department.
As the state readies to have more people return to work on May 11, Beshear reiterated that daycares could not be reopened, saying that if both workplaces and childcare centers opened at the same time it could vastly increase the spread of the virus.
“I want to get to a point where we can do this, but this is the major challenge we face,” Beshear said.
The state is still attempting to process unemployment claims from March. Josh Benton, the deputy secretary of the Cabinet of Education and Workforce Development, said there are 9,000 people who need to submit identity documents to the state. Benton said those people will be receiving an email.
This summer will look very different, with one of the biggest changes being extremely limited access to pools. Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner, said Thursday that no public pools — not even pools in apartment complexes — should be open at the beginning of the summer.
“It’s just not pragmatically possible,” Beshear said. “Public pools are not what we’re going to see, certainly not in the early part of the summer.”
Lexington’s public pools will not reopen this summer, according to Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton.
“Protecting the health of our citizens and our employees has to come first,” Gorton said. “The Governor and the CDC are encouraging us to practice social distancing. Children and swimming pools just don’t make for good social distancing. As much as I would like to open our pools this summer, it’s not responsible.”
The state has also been increasing its testing efforts. On Friday, a new site will open in Owen County and next week there will be a drive-thru site in Jessamine County. Since Monday, at least 8,037 Kentuckians have been tested, which means 1.26 percent of the state’s population has been tested.
Citing a report that Kentucky faces a budget shortfall of up to $500 million, Beshear urged Congress to provide relief for state and local governments, saying the recession will otherwise last longer. Beshear said he spoke with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Thursday to make his case.
“I appreciate him hearing me out, now I hope that he acts,” Beshear said.
The Kentucky National Guard will do a statewide flyover on Friday, going from Louisville to Lexington to Pikeville to Bowling Green to Owensboro in order to honor health care workers and first responders. Other cities like New York and Philadelphia have seen similar flyovers.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 6:02 PM.
