Surge in nearby Hopkins Co. COVID-19 cases blamed on church that refused to follow social distancing mandate. State now has 680 cases, 20 deaths.

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The surge in COVID-19 cases in nearby Hopkins County resulted from a church refusing to obey social distancing mandates in order to hold a revival, Gov. Andy Beshear said at his daily coronavirus update.

Hopkins County has experienced a spike in cases since March 27 when the county of 46,000 residents reported three cases. Since March 27, 21 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been diagnosed, with one death (in total, Hopkins County has two COVID-19-related deaths).

The latest Hopkins County death was a 76-year-old man who passed away within the last 24 hours. In addition to the Hopkins County victim, a 60-year-old woman in Daviess County died as a result of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total number of deaths to 20.

“When we lose a Kentuckian, it’s a loss to all of us,” Gov. Beshear said about the most recent deaths.

There are now 680 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kentucky, 86 more than Tuesday.

The new cases originated in Hardin, Daviess, Warren, Jefferson, Fayette, Harrison, Kenton, Clark, Pulaski, Montgomery, Henderson, Madison, Bourbon, Spencer, Jessamine, Lyon, Christian, Menifee, Oldham, Nelson, Franklin, Anderson, Calloway, and Breathitt counties.

Beshear said we are experiencing a surge of cases in Kentucky, as 378 cases of the virus have been confirmed since Thursday, March 27. By comparison, in the three week period between March 6, the day Kentucky’s first COVID-19 case was confirmed, and March 27, 302 cases of the virus were confirmed.

The governor noted the next two weeks to 30 days are vitally important in stopping the spread of the virus.

“Remember, we typically see the ramifications of how well we’re doing about two weeks later,” Beshear said. “And I will tell you, our actions, our aggressive actions, and everything that you all have sacrificed, is making a difference. It is making a difference. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to dig a little bit deeper, especially during this period of time.

Beshear said the state has now completed over 10,000 COVID-19 tests. He added that the projections he’s been given by state health officials predicting that 15,000 to 21,000 tests have been administered is likely accurate.

The state sent out 40,000 acceptances for unemployment benefits across Kentucky on Tuesday night. Over the last three days the state unemployment office has received between 80,000 and 200,000 calls from people seeking unemployment benefits.

Reporting hotline
The COVID-19 Reporting Hotline (833-597-2337) is for reporting non-compliance with coronavirus mandates. Labor Cabinet personnel will monitor the hotline between 7:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET. A new website where Kentuckians can visit to make online complaints is kysafer.ky.gov.

CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages people to follow these steps to prevent illness. Kentuckians who want advice may call the state hotline at 800-722-5725 or call their local health care provider.

Kentucky’s COVID-19 informational website may be found here.

By Ken Howlett, News Director

Contact Ken at ken@k105.com