LOUISVILLE, Ky. — This is a liveblog with real-time updates on COVID-19 in Kentucky. Governor Andy Beshear is expected to give updates every day at 4 p.m.
Sunday, August 16
4 p.m.
An additional 390 positive cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Kentucky, according to Gov. Andy Beshear’s office.
Even though the number of cases has increased this week, Beshear said Kentuckians may have “stopped the exponential growth of the virus.”
Thirteen of the new cases were found in children under 5-years-old.
The governor confirmed three new deaths, all women, in Fayette, Perry and Franklin Counties.
Reports on the total number of tested, positivity rate and recovered will not be available until Monday.
To date, Kentucky has confirmed 39,315 cases of the coronavirus.
Saturday, August 15
5:30 p.m.
Kentucky continues to be at war with battling the coronavirus as state officials have announced 638 new cases.
Gov. Beshear said in a statement that this will be the highest week of total cases Kentucky has ever had but the positivity rate is going down. It now stands at 5.45%.
Cases are continuing to grow among the younger demographic, especially as the new school year begins. Seventeen of the new cases were found in children 5-years-old and under.
“When you look at how hard children are being hit now, 322 people under the age of 18 have tested positive since the beginning of this in Warren County alone,” he said.
Six more people have died from the virus, bringing the overall total to 810, including three people from Jefferson County.
Dr. Steven Stack said Kentuckians “have crucial roles to play” in the battle against the virus. He said this week outpaced the total number of cases last week. Dr. Stack said if the public becomes to complacent, the state’s “hard-found containment” of the virus could slip away.
Kentucky has tested 754,985 people while 9,091 have recovered.
The state’s current total of known positive cases stands at 38,930.
Friday, August 14
4 p.m.
Kentucky confirmed 679 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the overall total to 38,298.
The state's test positivity rate is at 5.68%
Eight more deaths due to the virus were reported.
Governor Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams announced they reached an agreement on plans for the upcoming general election amid the pandemic. The goals were to keep voters safe and make sure people were not disenfranchised. Some of the changes include extended early voting and absentee voting for those concerned with contracting or spreading COVID-19.
Thursday, August 13
4 p.m.
Kentucky confirmed 785 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the overall total to 37,686.
Six more deaths have been confirmed.
The test positivity rate is up to 5.67% and 730,362 tests have been administered in the state.
So far, 8,965 people have recovered from COVID-19.
Governor Beshear announced nearly $4 million in CARES Act reimbursements for 15 eastern KY local governments.
Dr. Steven Stack, the state health commissioner, urged all Kentuckians to get a flu shot.
Wednesday, August 12
4 p.m.
Governor Beshear announced 1,163 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 36,945 overall. That is the state's highest single day increase of cases so far. Beshear said today's total of 1,163 includes cases which were not included in the totals for Monday and Tuesday of this week due to a glitch.
Of those new cases, 39 are children under the age of five.
Seven more deaths have been reported.
States have been added to Kentucky's travel advisory due to positivity rates. The state recommends against travel to Washington, Florida, Nevada, Mississippi, Idaho, South Carolina, Texas, Alabama and Arizona.
Kentucky's test positivity rate is 5.62% and 717,370 tests have been performed.
Tuesday, August 11
5:00 p.m.
Gov. Andy Beshear has announced 562 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky, bringing the statewide total to 35,793 cases overall.
Officials said 18 of the newly reported cases were found in children ages 5 and under, including an 18-day old from Hardin County, a one-month-old from Rowan County and a three-month-old from Lincoln County.
Eight more people were also lost to the virus including two men, ages 75 and 93 from Jefferson County.
Nearly 711,017 people have been tested for the virus.
The positivity rate is currently 5.87%.
Beshear also shared more on his COVID-19 scare after he and his family felt ill early Tuesday.
“I wanted to start by letting you know that both my family and I are OK. We’ve tested negative for COVID-19 after a real scare. And I want to thank everybody out there who sent their thoughts and their prayers,” the Governor said. “This morning, late in the morning, I started feeling bad with a lot of the symptoms that can suggest COVID-19. Because of that I immediately isolated and canceled events we had in the afternoon. A couple hours later, I was tested. And even the short wait that I had to endure gives me newfound empathy for those that are having to wait even a couple days to get their test results back, knowing that they may be separated from their family and wondering what their immediate future is going to be. So I’m going to continue to try to lead with this empathy and hopefully it makes me a better Governor in addressing this virus.”
10 a.m.
Mayor Greg Fischer confirmed 150 new cases of COVID-19 and a total of 8,506 confirmed cases.
Six new deaths have been reported bringing the state total to 256 deceased.
One 54-year-old female, a 65-year-old female, a 73-year-old female, a 75-year-old female, an 84-year-old female, and a 90+ individual are the 5 confirmed deaths reported.
The positivity rate is 7.94%.
"1-2-3 No Cost To Me" was also introduced to raise awareness to healthcare availability to Black and Hispanic people. This new initiative is to ensure that Black and Hispanic people have 100% access at all times.
Monday, August 10
4:30 p.m.
Big changes were also made with bars and restaurants in Kentucky that go into effect on Tuesday.
- Inside capacity has been increased to 50% percent, however, Gov. Beshear is urging these businesses to promote the use of outdoor space.
- All customers must be seated and no congregating at the bar.
- Employees and patrons must wear masks.
- The last item must be served by 10 p.m.
- Bars and restaurants must close by 11 p.m.
4:20 p.m.
Gov. Beshear has announced an additional 275 cases of COVID-19 but said the numbers are artificially low due to a computer glitch. The statewide number of confirmed cases is at 35,254 but with a “giant asterisk” on it, he said.
Two new deaths were reported, bringing the total to 775 Kentuckians lost to the virus.
The positivity rate has gone down but again, that number may change due to the glitch.
4:10 p.m.
Governor Andy Beshear announced new changes to schools, bars and restaurants during his Monday briefing.
Citing the safety and health of teachers, students and support staff, the governor has recommended school districts in the state to delay in-person instruction and going virtual until Sept. 28.
Beshear said this is based on Kentucky cases are at a potential peak, parents still taking their children on vacation and bringing back COVID-19 to the state and increased infections in children.
Beshear also cited reports of 100,000 children who have tested positive from COVID-19 across the country.
He said it wasn’t an easy decision, but said he wanted to what he could to protect the safety of everyone.
1:30 p.m.
The Kentucky Department of Education's task force met to discuss returning to school during the pandemic. They discussed virtual learning and class size, teacher and student interactions, safety guidelines for school libraries and the use of virtual libraries.
At 3 p.m. today, the governor will meet privately with superintendents from Kentucky school districts.
On Sunday, Governor Andy Beshear said Kentucky's COVID-19 test positivity rate is increasing as the virus spreads through the state. He is expected to provide updates on the positivity rate during today's 4 p.m. briefing.