176 new Kentucky coronavirus cases and 4 deaths. KY will test all in nursing homes.
Gov. Andy Beshear Friday announced 176 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 6,288 as the state unveiled a plan to test every nursing home resident and worker in the state.
“Remember, just because we believe you can be healthy at work doesn’t mean this virus isn’t out there, isn’t aggressive,” Beshear said.
He announced four new deaths, bringing the state’s official death toll to 298. Around 58 percent of the Kentuckians who have died from the virus have been residents of nursing homes.
Even though the state stopped allowing visitors in nursing homes in March, the disease has run rampant through long-term care facilities. A total of 862 residents have tested positive.
Eric Friedlander, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said the state has been more aggressive recently about getting personal protective equipment and testing into long-term care facilities. Friedlander said the state has tested around 10 percent of residents in nursing homes and laid out a plan to test everyone at all 286 facilities.
He said he is looking at eight factors in determining which facilities get tested first. So far, the state has tested about a third of nursing homes in the highest risk category, he said. Friedlander said the tests are free to the facility, residents and staff.
“There has to be a plan in place before we can go out and test and we’re working with the facilities on that,” Friedlander said.
More reopening guidelines issued
Kentucky has seen record unemployment because of the pandemic — Beshear said Friday the state has paid out 690,000 unemployment claims for a total of $1.2 billion — and the state will start to slowly begin the process of reopening this month.
The state posted online Friday the minimum requirements for retail businesses and churches to reopen. For retail businesses, the six pages of requirements include a limit of 33 percent capacity, with a system for limiting the amount of people who enter and counting how many people are in the store. They are also encouraged to limit the number of people using the restroom.
Houses of worship are also only allowed to have a third of their capacity and are not allowed to provide communal food or beverages to clergy, staff, employees, volunteers or congregants.
Funeral attendance has been severely limited during the pandemic and the state issued guidelines that will allow funerals to be conducted with 33 percent capacity and outdoor funerals with people remaining in their cars. The larger funerals would be allowed May 20.
At least 2,266 people have recovered from the virus — about a third of the people who have been infected — but the number of people in intensive care increased Friday to 210 and a total of 369 people are currently hospitalized. The number of people in the hospital and in intensive care has slowly been climbing since April 18, which Beshear said is an area of concern that will have to be monitored closely.
Around 18 percent of the people who have died from the virus have been black, which is well above the 8 percent of Kentuckians who are black.
Beshear has hinged the reopening on the state in large part on an increased testing capacity. On Friday, he said four of the state’s Kroger drive-thru sites tested at least 6,028 people this week. At least 86,428 tests have been conducted across the state.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 5:39 PM.
