New Kentucky coronavirus cases dip to 323 Monday. Rate of positive tests at 5.18%.
Calling it a “pretty positive day,” Gov. Andy Beshear announced “only” 323 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Monday, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 31,508.
“That’s 323 too many, but after having days in the 500s and 600s, after having a Sunday that was higher [than] today, this is at least good news,” the governor said in his daily update. The infection rate has also dropped from nearly 6 percent to 5.18 percent, which Beshear called “a positive sign.”
He attributed the “de-escalation” to his July 10 mandate requiring virtually all Kentuckians to wear masks around others to slow the rapid spread of the virus. When Beshear signed his executive order, new infections were increasing at a rate of close to 50 percent each week. That rate has since slowed the last two weeks, he said, to an increase of about 5 percent.
“What the numbers are telling us is that facial coverings and masks are working,” he said.
Beshear also updated a list of states with high infection rates that Kentuckians should avoid if possible. He’s asking residents who must go to Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, South Carolina, Kansas and Mississippi to quarantine for 14 days after returning.
“It’s not worth it,” Beshear said of people’s decisions to travel to these states. “I keep thinking, if somebody asked me, ‘Would you go to the beach if it meant it might kill someone in your family?’ The answer is ‘heck no.’ Let’s continue to cancel our trips if they are to these dangerous places.”
Monday’s new cases include a dozen kids under age 5. In nursing and assisted living homes, nine new residents and 7 staff have contracted the virus. Three more residents have died.
Of the 4,010 positive cases reported among Kentucky nursing home residents and staff since March, 417 are active cases. Nearly 3,000 have recovered and 475 have died.
There are 612 people hospitalized with the virus, 136 of whom are in intensive care, and 8,335 have recovered.
At least 642,577 tests have been administered. Kroger is no longer operating its free drive-thru testing sites, Beshear said, but the state is in the process of finding new partners to replace that capacity. That includes a new, free drive-thru site in Erlanger open Monday through Friday starting on Aug. 6 — a partnership between Gravity Diagnostics and St. Elizabeth Healthcare. University of Louisville Health will also operate drive-thru testing sites in downtown Louisville, South Louisville and in Bullitt County. An appointment is required, but the test is free.
Beshear said he hoped to announce a similar testing partnership with UK HealthCare in Lexington in the coming days.
There are at least 225 locations to get a COVID-19 test in Kentucky, all of which can be found at kycovid19.ky.gov. Those sites include dozens of Kroger’s Little Clinic locations in the state.
Since the outbreak began, Kentucky has provided universal testing in select state prisons that have had at least one confirmed case of the virus. On Monday, Beshear said he would “seriously and significantly consider” preemptively testing those facilities without a confirmed case, since congregate care settings are breeding grounds for the virus.
At least 814 inmates and 126 staff have tested positive. Eighteen inmates have died — eight of which were in Lexington’s Federal Medical Center.
Two more Kentuckians with the virus have died: a 75-year-old man from Floyd County and a 99-year-old man from Calloway County. At least 744 people with the virus have died.
“While we’re moving in the right direction in cases,” Beshear said, “we’re going to have a tough month ahead in terms of Kentuckians we have lost.” July was Kentucky’s worst month for new coronavirus cases — 14,527 new infections compared to June’s 5,791. A spike in deaths lags a few weeks behind a spike in the infection rate, which is what the governor said he’s bracing for.
Jack Dobbs contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 4:30 PM.
