A ‘very fragile place.’ Kentucky sees 234 new cases of COVID-19, three more deaths.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 234 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky, putting the state’s total at 13,187. Three more people with the virus have died, bringing the death toll to at least 520 people.
While Thursday’s new case number is higher than Wednesday’s, “it still remains in a manageable area,” meaning the state is not reporting a defined spike in new infections.
“We’ve got to make sure we can keep our new number of cases in this type of range,” he said, noting it’s still a “very fragile place,” which is why Kentuckians must continue following the state’s Healthy At Work guidelines, including wearing a mask.
For those who have refused to wear masks, “we need you to reconsider,” Beshear said. “It’s not a test of manhood whether you wear a mask or not.”
Currently there are 400 Kentuckians hospitalized with the virus and 68 in intensive care. At least 3,506 have recovered.
Twenty-five more nursing home residents and seven staff have also positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,577 residents and 754 staff across 162 facilities. At least 334 people in long-term care facilities — three staff and 331 residents — have died from the virus.
The number of tests administered across the state is at least 336,267 — an increase of more than 6,500 since Wednesday. More people admitted to hospitals for elective procedures are getting tested, but slightly fewer people are opting to get tested at drive-thru sites. Beshear said, “we need people to do both.”
Beshear signs Juneteenth proclamation for 2020
The governor also signed a proclamation marking June 19, 2020 as Juneteenth National Freedom Day in Kentucky, commemorating the official end of slavery in the United States on that same date in 1865, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
“During these times, when, again, we’ve heard voice and we have seen the frustration of hundreds of years of ramifications of slavery, discrimination, of Jim Crow and segregation, I think it’s more and more important that we remind everybody of this dark chapter in our history, that its impacts continue to linger and that we celebrate the date that at least portions of it ended,” Beshear said.
Beshear said he will ask the General Assembly to pass a law that makes Juneteenth an official annual holiday.
“It’s time,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 4:41 PM.
