796 new Kentucky coronavirus cases and 5 deaths. Case total tops 63,000.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 796 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Wednesday, edging the state’s case total up to 63,517. He also announced five more people with the virus have died, putting the death toll at 1,124.
As the governor gave his daily novel coronavirus update from the state Capitol in Frankfort, people amassed in Louisville to protest a grand jury’s decision earlier Wednesday to indict only one of the three Louisville Metro Police Department officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s killing in March.
Beshear pleaded with protesters to take precautions against the virus. “Everybody, including those that may march tonight or those that are going to go inside their house of worship, please, please, please wear a mask,” he said.
Kentucky’s rate of positive tests, a seven-day rolling average, is 4.59 percent. At least 1,291,548 tests have been administered since the beginning of the pandemic.
On Wednesday, the state reported another 123 students in K-12 schools had tested positive, along with an additional 69 staff members, according to the state Department of Public Health. In total, just over 440 students and 233 staff actively have COVID-19.
At colleges and universities, the state reported 348 new cases in students and one new staff positive. State figures show 1,429 college students and 45 staff currently have the virus.
In nursing and assisted living homes, the state reported an additional 43 cases among residents and 36 positives among staff, for a total of 559 active resident cases and 395 active staff cases. At least 329 facilities have reported at least one case of the virus since March.
There are 530 Kentuckians hospitalized with the virus, 123 of whom are in intensive care.
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 5:19 PM.
