KY State Fair limited to competitors. 516 new COVID-19 cases. Mask rule extended.
Citing its success, Gov. Andy Beshear will renew for another 30 days the statewide mandate for Kentuckians to wear masks when around others, he said Thursday, adding that Kentucky has 516 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the case total to 33,254.
“It’s working, and since we made it mandatory, more people are wearing them,” he said of the executive order requiring masks in public, which first went into effect July 10.
To further limit the risk of spread, Beshear also announced Thursday that the general public won’t be allowed at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville later this month. Only credentialed participants will be allowed to attend the event, scheduled for Aug. 20-30.
He called it a “necessary step to prevent a surge in COVID-19 cases.”
The limitation means fair staples, such as concerts and food vendors, won’t be featured at the event, and popular attractions will be held without spectators, including the World’s Championship Horse Show. For credentialed participants, facial coverings and social distancing will be required.
The rate of people testing positive, a seven-day rolling average, remained unchanged from Wednesday, at 5.51 percent. Thursday’s new cases include a dozen kids under age 5 and 24 new residents in nursing and assisted living homes. At least 452 long-term care facility residents and 217 staff actively have the virus. In Kentucky’s jail and prison system, 284 inmates and 49 staff are actively infected.
Beshear had said previously he would reinstate Kentucky’s mask mandate, which was set to expire this weekend.
His two-week executive order closing bars and limiting indoor restaurant capacity will expire next week. When that happens, restaurants and bars will likely be allowed to increase indoor capacity to 50 percent, but they should emphasize seating patrons outdoors, Beshear said. Bars should expect to enforce a “strictly-enforced seat rule,” meaning people can’t stand and mingle.
Bars and restaurants will likely have to serve their last drink and food by 10 p.m., he said.
Kentucky’s rate of new cases continues to plateau, the governor said. Since Monday, the state has reported 247 fewer cases when compared with Monday through Thursday of last week. “What that means is, at least in overall numbers, we appear to not just be slowing, but we hope [we’re] stopping any escalation we have seen,” he said.
Eight more people with the virus have died, putting the death toll at 760.
Though the rate of new cases appears to have plateaued, the number of people hospitalized with the virus continues to rise. On Thursday, 701 people were in the hospital, an increase of more than 60 from earlier in the week. Of those hospitalized, 140 are in intensive care. At least 674,490 tests have been administered and 8,523 people have recovered.
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 4:35 PM.
