For the second consecutive day, Kentucky set a record for an increase in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.
Gov. Andy Beshear said at his daily COVID-19 briefing on Friday that 54 confirmed cases of the virus have been diagnosed in the state since Thursday’s briefing. That brings Kentucky’s total to 302 COVID-19 cases out of 5,123 administered tests (from Wednesday evening to Thursday afternoon, Kentucky’s COVID-19 cases rose by 50).
The governor also announced that two more patients have died from the virus, bringing the state’s total COVID-19 related deaths to seven. Beshear said the fatalities were a 75-year-old woman who died in Fayette County and a 77-year-old Hopkins County man.
Hopkins County Health Department Director Denise Beach said during a Facebook Live update on the city of Madisonville’s Facebook page that the elderly man who passed away was “a senior adult with comorbid (the simultaneous presence of two chronic diseases or conditions) or other health conditions.”
The new confirmed cases are in Boone, Bullitt, Campbell, Christian or Todd, Daviess, Fayette, Hardin, Jefferson, Jessamine, Kenton, LaRue, Logan, Oldham, Pulaski, Scott, Simpson, Warren and Woodford counties.
One case that has yet to be reported to the state is in Breckinridge County, as that county’s health department said this morning via Facebook Live that one confirmed case has been identified.
Beshear says stay away from the Volunteer State
Beshear again warned Kentuckians living on the border with Tennessee (17 Kentucky counties border Tennessee) to not enter that state unless absolutely necessary.
“If you are a Kentuckian living on that border, I need you to not go to Tennessee for anything other than work, or helping a loved one, or maybe the grocery if it’s closer,” Beshear said.
Beshear said Tennessee officials have not been aggressive in trying to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“I cannot control that Tennessee has not taken the steps that we have,” Beshear said. “And what it means, because obviously you can drive anywhere, is that if someone does decide they want to go out to eat, and goes to a crowded restaurant in Tennessee, they bring back that coronavirus here in Kentucky.”
As of 2:00 Friday afternoon, Tennessee was reporting 1,203 cases, compared to Kentucky’s 302 (Tennessee has roughly seven million residents while Kentucky has about 4.5 million).
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
