745 new KY COVID-19 cases and 9 deaths. Bars and restaurants can serve until 11.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 745 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases in Kentucky to 58,000. He also signed an order allowing bars and restaurants to stay open an extra hour, until 11 p.m.
“While those are more cases that we’d like to see, based on significant testing, our positivity rate is now under 4 percent,” Beshear said.
On Tuesday, the state announced 47,956 new COVID-19 tests, bringing the state’s total to 1,068,026 tests conducted since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Between Saturday and Tuesday, the state announced 107,596 tests.
It is unclear whether the high number of tests is a result of more people getting tested or a backlog in reported tests, but it has helped drive down the state’s positivity rate. The state’s official rate of positive tests over the past seven days is 3.97 percent.
Beshear also announced nine new deaths, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,074. There are 533 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Kentucky, 125 of whom are in intensive care.
Fifty-nine new residents and 33 new staff tested positive in long-term care facilities, bringing the number of active cases to 540 residents and 369 staff. There have been 605 coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes since the beginning of the pandemic, which accounts for 56 percent of the state’s COVID-19 related deaths.
With a lower positivity rate and the return of football season, Beshear announced his is pushing back the state’s mandated last call for food and drink at restaurants and bars by one hour, to 11 p.m. Those businesses must close by midnight. Patrons at bars and restaurants still must remain seated unless going to the bathroom and indoor capacity is limited to 50 percent.
“That was a specific request from those in the restaurant industry, we thought it was reasonable,” Beshear said. He warned people not to bend the rules because “it hurts everybody.”
The White House has advised Beshear to shut down bars and limit restaurants to 25 percent capacity in the hardest-hit counties, but he has declined to do so.
As of Monday, there were 1,194 active cases of COVID-19 in Lexington and 6,685 active cases in Louisville. The two cities account for nearly 52 percent of active cases in Kentucky, according to numbers reported by the state’s 61 local health departments.
There are 313 active cases of COVID-19 in public schools, according to the Department of Public Health, 26 of which are in Fayette County. There are 1,124 active cases among students at colleges and universities, at least 665 of which are active at the University of Kentucky, according to the state.
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services received a grant for nearly $1 million to help support Meals on Wheels. Eric Friedlander, secretary of the cabinet, said 1.8 million meals have been served to needy senior citizens through Meals on Wheels during the coronavirus pandemic.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 4:39 PM.
