166 new Kentucky coronavirus cases and 10 more deaths. Total is 8,167.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 166 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday in Kentucky, bringing the state’s total to 8,167 as retail businesses opened up throughout the state. He announced 10 new deaths, bringing the state’s death toll to 376.
Beshear said the numbers appear to look good — the number of new cases is still in a plateau, the percentage of people testing positive has dropped and the number of people in the ICU is down. Still, he warned that the virus has a long incubation period, which means the numbers don’t reflect what people are doing right now.
“This is a snapshot from two weeks ago,” Beshear said.
The number of people in the ICU dropped significantly after Beshear’s administration double checked with hospitals to see if Tuesday’s report of 269 people in intensive care was reliable. It wasn’t. There are only 98 people in intensive care, he said, but the number of people in the hospital increased to 474.
Beshear said that any overflow from hospitals in Bowling Green — there were 818 cases in Warren County as of May 19, according to the Barren River Health Department — will go to the University of Kentucky hospitals in Lexington.
A total of 158,672 tests have been conducted in Kentucky, the equivalent of 3.55 percent of the population. Next week, the state’s drive-thru testing partnership with Kroger will conduct tests in Fayette County, Jefferson County, Henderson County and Warren County.
Much of the state’s testing has been focused on nursing homes. On Wednesday, Beshear announced that six new nursing home residents tested positive, which is one of the lowest numbers he has reported in recent weeks. A total of 1,022 nursing home residents have been infected and 461 staff members. At least 207 people associated with nursing homes have died from the virus.
Beshear said he expects more nursing home staff members, who are more likely to have COVID-19 without displaying symptoms, to test positive for the virus.
Starting Thursday at 8 a.m. the Department for Local Government will start releasing $300 million in federal funding to city and county governments to reimburse the expenses they have incurred combating the coronavirus. The reimbursements can apply to several things, including procurement of personal protective equipment and payroll for government officials who have responded to the crisis.
“You do not have the success we have had against COVID-19 without strong local leaders and the expenses they have made,” Beshear said.
Beshear was adamant that Congress should give more money to stats and local governments in order to avoid a deeper recession. Congress is still negotiating the next phase of relief.
“All 50 governors of all 50 states support this,” Beshear said. “It is not political at all.”
Beshear said he wants people to keep three words in mind when they meet in small groups this weekend: hands, face and space. He wants people to make sure they wash their hands; make sure they wear a mask and don’t touch their face; and make sure they give themselves space from other people.
The state still has not issued guidance for how youth sports will be able to resume on June 15, but Beshear shed a little light on which sports may be allowed, saying it was likely that baseball, tennis and competitive swimming would likely be able to resume. He said there was more contact in basketball than one might think.
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 5:42 PM.
