Beshear ends mask mandate for outdoor events with fewer than 1,000 people
People in Kentucky no longer have to wear a mask around others if they are outside at events with fewer than 1,000 people, Gov. Andy Beshear announced on Monday, as he reported 213 new cases of COVID-19 across Kentucky.
“It means if you are at a backyard barbecue, if you are at a community pool, if you are at an outdoor wedding, you are not required to wear a mask,” Beshear said.
The change to his executive order goes into effect Tuesday and only applies outdoors. Beshear said he still recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated wear a mask around others outdoors but, like many of the restrictions throughout the pandemic, it will be difficult to enforce.
The mask mandate is still in effect outside at events with more than 1,000 people, including at the Kentucky Derby this weekend, Beshear said. Everyone must still wear a mask in all indoor public spaces, including at grocery stores or when moving around at a restaurant.
The governor relaxed the masking restriction, which has been in place since July 2020, because of the growing percentage of Kentuckians who are vaccinated. Statewide on Monday, 1,726,346 people — just over 38% of the population — had received at least their initial dose of a coronavirus vaccine. That’s 733,654 people shy of reaching Beshear’s 2.5 million vaccination goal, at which point he will revoke most coronavirus restrictions for businesses accommodating fewer than 1,000 people.
But reaching that goal might not happen until mid-summer, as the rate of new vaccinations has been slowing for the last month.
“The number of Kentuckians getting vaccinated each week is slowing a bit,” Beshear said. “Right now, no matter where you are in Kentucky, you can get an appointment tomorrow.”
Younger Kentuckians between the ages of 20 to 49 account for some of the state’s lowest vaccination rates, while 75% of residents age 70 and older are fully immunized. Only 48% of people 50-59 are vaccinated; 39% of people ages 40-49; 44 percent of people ages 30-39 are fully vaccinated and even fewer, 25%, of people ages 20-29 are vaccinated.
Women continue to get their doses at higher rates than men — nearly 57% of women are vaccinated, compared with just over 44% of men.
After an almost two week pause on use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, scientific advisers who had been studying its adverse effects gave states the go-ahead on Friday to resume administering the single-dose shot. Out of the more than 8 million people nationwide who have received it, the federal government found 15 people, all women, most under the age of 50, who developed a rare form of blood clotting after getting theirs. Three died.
Federal health officials decided the benefits far outweighed the potential and rare side effects. The vaccine will now include a warning for younger women who are considering getting the shot.
Like many other states, Kentucky temporarily halted its use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 13 while health advisers could study its impact. On Monday morning, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department announced it would commence using the vaccine, again. Beshear in his daily coronavirus update said the rest of the state would do the same.
“There is no doubt that the relative balancing of the risks and benefits show this vaccine to be incredibly effective and incredibly safe,” Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Steven Stack said, echoing federal health guidance that women under 50 should seek out the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine it if they’re uncomfortable taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, though the risk of adverse reaction remains “almost diminishingly small.”
Beshear also announced 11 more virus-related deaths on Monday — seven of which were people who died in November and December and were discovered through the state’s ongoing audit of previously uncounted coronavirus deaths.
The positivity rate is 3.15%, and there are 414 people hospitalized with coronavirus, 108 are in intensive care and 47 are on a ventilator.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 5:01 PM.
