Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday reported 258 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) were confirmed in Kentucky over the previous 24 hours.
The new cases increase the state’s COVID-19 victim county to 23,414. Of the new cases, eight are children under the age of five. Seventy-one children in that age group have contracted the virus over the last eight days, according to health officials.
Over the last 11 days, 5,245 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the state, an average of 476 per day.
Beshear announced one new death Monday, raising the total to 671 (2.9 percent fatality rate) Kentuckians lost to the virus. The death reported was a 94-year-old woman from Casey County.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,882 (12.3 percent) patients have been hospitalized, with 542 victims currently in a hospital. To date, 1,035 (4.4 percent) people have been treated in intensive care, with 114 currently in ICU.
At least 6,876 (29.4 percent) people have recovered from the virus, and 533,143 (12.1 percent of the population) COVID-19 tests have been administered in the state.
The positivity rate in the commonwealth currently stands at 4.52 percent.
New executive actions include travel advisory, roll back on mass gatherings
At his COVID-19 briefing on Monday, Beshear updated Kentuckians on the continuing efforts to fight the virus as the commonwealth faces a significant uptick in new cases.
“The virus is spreading out there, and it’s spreading significantly,” Beshear warned. “We must make sure that we take the steps to keep ourselves safe, our families safe and each other safe. Any concept that there’s just more testing out there and the virus is still in the same place is absolutely and categorically false. A fact’s a fact. Twitter can’t change that. Make sure that you know where we are right now so we can adopt what we need to get through.”
He noted that the daily number of positive cases as well as the rolling seven-day average shows Kentucky is seeing its positivity rate regarding COVID-19 tests jumping from around two percent in mid-March to over four percent in recent weeks.
Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said the growth in cases and the positivity rate was somewhat difficult for many to understand.
“People aren’t used to exponential growth. Sunday (with nearly 1,000 new cases) was our highest total by far. When you start this climb, it’s like going up Mount Everest,” Dr. Stack said. “But we know we can control this, we’ve proven that. We know that the things we’ve recommended work. Sunday was a wake-up call. Sunday was a warning. It’s a shot across the bow. Our fate is collectively in Team Kentucky’s hands, whether we can adopt a simple measure like wearing a mask. If we don’t take some strong action, people will see how bad things can get in Kentucky, and believe me, we don’t want to get there.”
To blunt the growth in cases, the governor announced a new travel advisory and a pullback on the guidance for mass gatherings.
Travel advisory
The new travel advisory recommends a 14-day self-quarantine for travelers who went to any of eight states – Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, South Carolina, or Texas – that are reporting a positive coronavirus testing rate equal to or greater than 15 percent.
The advisory also includes Mississippi, which is quickly approaching a positive testing rate of 15 percent, and Puerto Rico.
The states and territory were identified from data reported to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center.
“The No. 1 COVID-19 cluster cause that we’re seeing right now is travel. We know how much this is being brought back. We are asking anyone who goes to a state that has over a 15 percent positivity rate to quarantine for 14 days when they come back,” Beshear said. “Fifteen percent is really dangerous. We need people to change their plans because it’s a life or death matter for this commonwealth.”
Dr. Stack encouraged Kentuckians to avoid travel to these areas, but those who do visit the locations listed and return to Kentucky are being asked to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Officials ask those affected to avoid public places and personal contacts; to remain isolated from family members as much as possible; to follow all other Healthy at Home guidelines; and to check their temperature twice a day, among other recommendations.
“This is a recommendation. This is an advisory. I’m telling you what you need to do to stay safe,” Dr. Stack said. “The economic difficulties are real. The isolation this has caused for a lot of folks. Problems with deferred medical care. We’re aware of these things. They pain us. The pandemic has worsened all of them. The way we avoid many of those things is taking the steps to control our destiny, wearing those masks and socially distancing.”
Mass gatherings
Beshear also announced that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services has issued a new order that pulls back on guidance covering social, non-commercial mass gatherings.
On June 29, the original guidance was eased to allow for gatherings of 50 or fewer people. Monday’s order returns the guidance to allow only for such gatherings of 10 or fewer people. The guidance, which does not apply to weddings, restaurants, retail, or other public venues, went into effect Monday at 5 p.m.
Much of the other guidance on mass gatherings remains intact, including mandates on barring sick people, requiring face coverings and social distancing, and a ban on sharing food and drinks. People hosting such gatherings also are encouraged to host the events outdoors when possible, sanitize high-touch surfaces and follow other Healthy at Home suggestions.
“We’re seeing clusters created by our backyard barbeques, our block parties, and it’s because we let our guard down,” Beshear said. “We have a lot of friends over and we know them. We figure they’re probably doing everything right. We take off our masks, we relax, we get too close, we stand around while people are grilling and we’re seeing some very difficult outcomes because of it. So much depends on us trying to stop this thing before it gets out of control.”
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
