Gov. Andy Beshear did not hold a coronavirus (COVID-19) briefing on Sunday or Monday, but the governor announced on Saturday that 148 new cases of the virus have been diagnosed in Kentucky.
The new cases increase the state’s total to 8,571 victims. No new deaths were reported Saturday, the first time in about six weeks that Beshear has not reported a COVID-19 death, leaving the state’s death toll at 391 (4.6 percent fatality rate) people.
As of Saturday, 2,131 (24.9 percent) people have even been hospitalized, with 484 victims currently in a hospital. Eighty-nine patients are currently receiving care in ICU, while a total of 897 (10.5 percent) victims have even been treated in intensive care.
A total of 3,102 (36.2 percent) people have recovered from the virus.
Beshear hung in effigy
On Sunday afternoon in Frankfort, demonstrators rallied outside the capitol and at the governor’s mansion in what was described as a Patriot Day and Second Amendment rally.
Toward the end of the rally outside the capitol, a demonstrator hung an effigy of Beshear from a tree with a sign that said, “Sic semper tyrannis,” a Latin phrase that translates to “Thus always to tyrants.
Historians believe the phrase is what President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth, yelled as he jumped to the stage from Lincoln’s box at Ford’s Theatre after shooting the president on April 14, 1865.
The effigy hung from the tree for only a brief time before other demonstrators took it down.
Both Republican and Democratic officials around the state condemned the action, including Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, who said in a statement, “I disagree with Governor Andy Beshear on many issues. However, this is not the way to disagree on policy or personalities. The General Assembly will continue to work on behalf of Kentuckians, to guide us through this difficult era, but in no way will we endorse this type of conduct.”
Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect said, “I am outraged that a group hung an effigy of Governor Beshear today at the Capitol and the House Majority Caucus condemns this act of hatred. The party of Lincoln will not condone this. There is no place in a civil society for it, nor is there any good to be accomplished from it. This weekend we honor those who died defending our right to speak freely. “Today’s actions are an insult to their sacrifice and the kind of incendiary action that can only cause harm.”
House Democratic Leader Joni Jenkins, House Democratic Caucus Chair Derrick Graham and House Democratic Whip Angie Hatton said in a joint statement Sunday night, “Hanging Governor Beshear in effigy is beyond reprehensible and yet it is also the logical conclusion of the hateful rhetoric we saw touted on the Capitol grounds earlier this month that was implicitly condoned by elected representatives from the legislature’s majority party. Doing this in front of our Capitol, just a short walk from where the Governor, First Lady, and their two young children live, is an act that reeks of hate and intimidation and does nothing but undermine our leading work to battle this deadly disease and restore our economy safely. We call on all elected officials to condemn these actions and pledge to work to eliminate dangerous hateful speech.”
Beshear spokeswoman Crystal Staley released a statement Sunday night, saying, “The act that was displayed on Capitol grounds today, near where the Governor and his young children live, was wrong and offensive. This type of behavior must be condemned. As Kentuckians we should be able to voice our opinions without turning to hate and threats of violence. Put simply – we are and should be better than this.”
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
