‘Knot in your stomach.’ COVID-19 cases pass 20,000 in KY as state reports 576 new cases.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 576 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Tuesday — the fourth time in less than a week that the daily case increase exceeded 400 and the second-highest daily increase — pushing the statewide total past 20,000 cases.
“If 400 [cases] made you gulp, 576 ought to create a knot in your stomach, because what we face is very, very real,” the governor said in the Capitol rotunda on Tuesday. “What we do now is going to determine whether we can push that back down, or whether we suffer more cases and more deaths.”
Six more people with the virus have died, their ages ranging from 44 to 89. The death toll now stands at 635. Beshear said he’s “worried” that rate “is going to get worse before it gets better.”
Tuesday’s daily rate is, in effect, a record single-day increase for community spread. The most cases reported in one day was on May 5, when 625 cases were reported — close to half of which were due to an outbreak at the Green River Correctional Complex in Central City.
“It should tell you that this virus isn’t playing and neither are we,” Beshear said of the 20,223 cases.
Beshear said Kentucky hospitals still have the capacity to handle a surge in cases — there are at least 449 people in the hospital with the virus, 84 of whom are in intensive care — but added that the situation could change quickly.
“We’re still at a point, even with rising numbers, that we still have the capacity to take care of people,” Beshear said.
Early in the pandemic, county hotspots were largely driven by outbreaks in nursing homes. But as summer hit and many Kentuckians took their traditional summer vacations — many to places that are experiencing outbreaks — the virus has started to spread throughout the community. On Monday, Beshear said people have returned from vacation and then gone to the grocery store or to church before testing positive, thereby unknowingly spreading the virus. On Thursday, he also pointed to outbreaks among sports teams getting together to practice.
“COVID-19 is attacking us, and we are at war with this virus. It threatens our lives, our livelihood and our very way of life,” he said. “It’s time to stop the silliness [and] it’s time to live up to our morals and to our faith. It is time to wear a mask.”
While Beshear has said he will consider rolling back restrictions — particularly in counties that are currently hotspots — he has expressed a desire to wait and see if an increase in people wearing masks can lower the number of people who are testing positive before taking steps to shut down things like sports practices, bars or restaurants.
On Tuesday, the governor called on people in positions of power to set an example by wearing a mask, noting that on Monday Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, tested Paulfor the virus. Wise said in a statement that he has only experienced minor symptoms.
Referencing a picture from a committee meeting earlier on Tuesday in Frankfort showing Republican state Rep. Stan Lee of Lexington, Rep. Chris Fugate of Chavies, and Sen. Paul Hornback of Shelbyville pictured talking closely without masks, Beshear asked them to set a better example.
“I’m not trying to publicly shame people, but we need leadership,” Beshear said. “I hope and expect to see everybody in the [Capitol] annex wearing one starting tomorrow,” otherwise, they’re putting themselves and others at risk, he said.
A photo posted by the Kentucky Senate Majority on Twitter later Tuesday showed several Republican lawmakers who did choose to wear masks, including Sen. Ralph Alvarado, R-Winchester, who is a doctor.
A dozen new residents at nursing homes and independent living facilities have tested positive since Monday, as have 12 more staff. Three more residents have died. Nursing homes have accounted for nearly 65 percent of COVID-19 related deaths in Kentucky.
Beshear said nine more children under the age of 5 have also tested positive, and the youngest is 11 months old.
“Remember, this impacts our children, too,” Beshear said.
He has been listing the number of younger people who have caught the virus as there has been increased discussion surrounding whether children should return to school for in-person classes, given the continued spread of the disease.
Three out of the five members of the Fayette County school board said they aren’t sure if Fayette County Public Schools can reopen to in-person classes in the fall.
Their uncertainty comes as Lexington on Tuesday reported 58 new cases and five new deaths — a single-day record — according to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department. Four of the five people who died were nursing home residents.
At least 494,343 tests have been administered.
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 4:39 PM.
