COVID vaccine eligibility expanding. Bars open later. Audit finds 604 extra KY deaths.
All Kentuckians over age 16 will be eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by April 12, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.
As he announced 785 new cases of COVID-19 and 31 more virus-related deaths, Beshear said the state is going to dramatically ramp up its vaccine rollout in the coming weeks, in time to immunize all willing adults by the end of May.
“We are in a race against these variants, and we’ve got to get [vaccines] out fast,” he said in a live update.
Additionally, people 50 and older can sign up for a vaccine starting Monday, representing an expansion of priority group 1C, which includes essential workers, people age 16 and older with certain at-risk health conditions, and people over age 60. There are 570 total vaccination sites in Kentucky.
The positivity rate is at its lowest since July 3, at 3.23 percent.
Since Kentucky’s coronavirus metrics continue to improve, beginning on Friday, bars and restaurants can extend their hours of operation by one hour, Beshear announced, though maximum capacity must remain at 60 percent.
Starting tomorrow, those establishments can serve food until midnight and doors can stay open until 1 a.m., which Beshear said will hopefully “provide a little bit of relief.” Bars and restaurants must continue requiring patrons to stay seated while they’re eating or drinking, and if they do need to move around, to wear masks.
“We cannot have people crowding around bars, or in restaurants around bars,” Beshear said. “We do have to keep people separated. We do need to keep people wearing masks.”
To accommodate a time of continued financial upheaval for many due to the pandemic, Beshear has directed the Kentucky Department of Revenue to extend the 2020 individual tax filing deadline from April 15 to May 17. The extension mirrors the Wednesday decision from Internal Revenue Services.
Beshear said Kentuckians can utilize the extension “without penalties and interest, regardless [of the] amount.”
604 extra COVID-19 deaths found
Earlier this month, Beshear’s office conducted an investigation to determine the accuracy of its official coronavirus death toll, after learning staff had stopped directly confirming those deaths in November. After staff revisited each COVID-19 death certificate the state has issued since November, Beshear announced Thursday that the audit confirmed an additional 604 deaths attributable to the virus.
A portion of those deaths — 417 — were added to the state’s total tally of confirmed deaths on Thursday. Of those, two hundred were residents in long-term care facilities. The remaining 187 will be added in the coming days, Beshear said.
Kentucky’s official COVID-19 death toll now stands at 5,505.
At least 1,082,303 Kentuckians have received their initial shot of a coronavirus vaccine.
The state’s weekly supply of new doses from the federal government is expected to significantly increase later this month and in April, Beshear and Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Steven Stack have said. Some vaccination sites are already gearing up for an accelerated rollout.
On Thursday, the University of Kentucky began encouraging anyone who isn’t yet immunized to sign up for a vaccine, including those adults not in 1C. MedCenter Health in Bowling Green began the same process on Wednesday.
The University of Kentucky said it’s now allowing anyone over age 16 to register for their dose at its Kroger Field vaccination site, “regardless of the phase they fall into,” by visiting ukvaccine.org. Once people in that group do qualify, UK will contact them about signing up for a specific day and time.
Statewide, 449 people are hospitalized with coronavirus, 110 of whom are in intensive care and 57 are on a ventilator. In nursing homes, two more residents and three staff have tested positive. Overall in those facilities, there are 184 total active cases.
At K-12 schools, 201 students and 16 staff have tested positive this week. Another 1,188 students and 49 staff are quarantining after exposure to the virus.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 4:42 PM.
