Kentucky coronavirus cases spike by 625 and deaths up by 14. Total is 5,822 cases.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 625 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday in Kentucky, 309 of which are from Green River Correctional Complex.
The state prison in Muhlenberg County has 988 beds for inmates. Beshear said the state tested every inmate and the entire staff.
The total is the highest reported number of new coronavirus cases in a single day in Kentucky, bringing the statewide total to 5,822. Beshear also announced 14 new deaths, which is tied for the second highest number of deaths in a single day. The official death toll is now 275, about 55 percent of whom have been residents of long-term care facilities.
Beshear called the number “artificially high” because it includes results that have come back from previous days.
A 35-year-old man from Jefferson County was among the people who died from COVID-19 Tuesday, becoming the youngest person to die from the virus in Kentucky. Beshear said he did not have any information about whether the man had underlying medical conditions.
There were 13 newly reported deaths in Kentucky nursing homes Tuesday. So far, 828 residents and 331 staff members of nursing homes have tested positive for the virus.
“What we find in these confined populations, the positivity rate is much higher,” said Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner.
Even when not counting the cases at Green River, the 316 new cases among the general population is the second highest daily number of new cases. The previous high was 322 cases on April 24. Only 1.37 percent of the state population has ever been tested for the virus. Of the people who have been tested, 9.54 percent have tested positive.
The high numbers come as the state is preparing a phased reopening of businesses that starts Monday. The reopening involves construction, manufacturing, office-based businesses (at 50 percent capacity), automobile and boat dealers, photography and pet boarding and grooming.
The governor cited increased testing capacity as the reason he feels the state can safely begin to reopen even though the number of new cases in the state have not decreased. With the help of Gravity Diagnostics, the state will be able to perform 30,000 tests a week, he said. The highest number of people the state has tested in a week so far is 14,333.
“In the general population, we’re at a point that if we take all these precautions, we can do it safely,” Beshear said.
Beshear has favored a gradual reopening policy and urged employers not to open until they can meet safety guidelines issued by the state, including the requirement that all staff wear face masks.
“You have to have your own time frame for meeting these standards,” he said.
Beshear said he plans to unveil his “phase two” reopening plan — which will allow for the reopening of things like restaurants — later this week. Beshear said he expects phase two to begin in June.
As people begin returning to work, those who must take care of a dependent or those who are in a high-risk category for complications from the virus will continue to qualify for unemployment if they choose not to return to work, said Josh Benton, the deputy secretary of the Cabinet of Education and Workforce Development.
The state has also narrowed the number of unemployment claims filed in March that still haven’t been paid. Benton said 95 percent of the cases that remain are situations were the person said they quit or were fired, which makes them ineligible. Benton said the state will allow people to correct that information in the next couple of days.
Beshear said people should think very carefully about their vacation plans this summer. He said he thinks it will be later in the summer before people can do more and that his administration is considering when to reopen state parks.
“Admittedly, it’s going to be a different summer,” Beshear said.
Visit Kentucky’s coronavirus website, kycovid19.ky.gov, for more guidance about the disease and testing options.
This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 5:40 PM.
