KY COVID-19 cases up 246 in two days. Total is 6,677. 10-year-old boy on ventilator.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 105 new cases of COVID-19 Monday in Kentucky, bringing the state’s total to 6,677 as the state began its process of reopening.
The number of new cases has held relatively steady of late — Beshear said there were 141 new cases on Sunday — and the three day average is currently 135 new cases a day. Beshear said he expects the number of new cases to be higher by Tuesday or Wednesday.
“We’ll get past this, we’ll get to the vaccine stage,” Beshear said. “Maybe the virus will die out or we’ll find a very good treatment. But until we get there, it’s still very real. Our battle and our war is still ongoing.”
There are 383 Kentuckians currently in the hospital with the virus, 220 of which are in intensive care, including a 10-year-old boy. The boy is the first child in Kentucky who has required a ventilator, according to Beshear.
Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner, said children normally do well with the virus, but that a small number of children suffer from a syndrome that causes their immune system to overreact, causing an inflammatory response.
“I don’t want to be sensational about any of this...” Stack said. “For kids who get this syndrome, it’s serious.”
Stack said the 10-year-old is currently in critical condition.
Beshear also announced four new deaths Monday, bringing the state’s total to 311 after an additional three deaths on Sunday. Around 58 percent of the deaths have been associated with nursing homes, where 889 residents have caught the virus. An additional 365 staff members have tested positive.
Not counted among the deaths announced by Beshear was an inmate at Lexington’s Federal Medical Center, a 59-year-old man named Juan Mata. There have been 10 deaths and 411 total cases of the disease in Lexington.
There was a large increase in the number of tests reported this weekend — nearly 20,000 — bringing the total number of tests completed in the state to 104,001. That number represents about 2.33 percent of the population.
Beshear encouraged everyone to get tested, noting that the state’s larger testing capacity is only helpful if people sign up to get tested. The tests play an important role in helping track who may have come in contact with the disease. There will be more than 50 testing sites across Kentucky this week.
With some businesses reopening Monday and more slated to open next week, Beshear encouraged people to practice moderation when going about their daily lives in order to decrease how many people they may contact.
“I believe that doing this right, doing this on our plan, will have long term success,” Beshear said.
According to Beshear’s plan, people will be allowed to gather in groups smaller than 10 people starting May 25. Beshear reiterated that when gathering in those groups, people will have to follow social distancing rules and stay six feet apart.
“I know it won’t be perfect, but I do want everyone to try,” Beshear said.
Monday also marked the first day where everyone was strongly encouraged to wear masks. Beshear complimented Eastern Kentucky, saying he was “really proud” because he said people in the region are responding to the request especially well.
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 5:37 PM.
