Kentucky coronavirus cases top 16,000. 239 new cases and 9 deaths.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 239 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday in Kentucky, bringing the statewide total past 16,000 as the state readies for the long Fourth of July weekend.
“Our case numbers are staying relatively stable, but we can’t become complacent,” Beshear said in a news release. “Especially on a holiday weekend, where lots of families and friends may be getting together, we have to keep in mind the things that will protect us.”
There are currently 430 Kentuckians in the hospital with the coronavirus, a number that has increased steadily over the past 14 days, and 73 people are in intensive care. Beshear also announced 9 new COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the state’s total to 581.
This weekend will be the first weekend since March that bars across the state are open, which have been an area of concern for other states with a resurgence of the virus.
On Twitter late Wednesday, Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner, put out a list of states that are seeing a resurgence in cases and pleaded with Kentuckians to follow social distancing protocols and wear masks.
“This is not a drill,” Stack wrote. “A lot of people will get hurt if enough of us don’t wear masks, socially distance, and sanitize our hands.”
There have been at least 420,058 COVID-19 tests in Kentucky, an increase of 8,841 from Wednesday. Around 3.8 percent of the tests conducted in Kentucky have returned positive results, a number that has remained stable over the past month.
