Kentucky’s confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases rose by a recording-setting 50 between Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon, bringing the state’s total to 248, Gov. Andy Beshear said at his daily briefing.
The new cases originated from every corner of the state, including Boone, Calloway, Clark, Christian, Daviess, Fayette (where a three-year-old child was diagnosed), Harrison, Hopkins, Jefferson, Jessamine, Madison, Mason, Mercer, Pulaski, Union, and Webster counties.
Since Friday night, 185 cases have been diagnosed in Kentucky, compared to the two week period between March 6 and March 20, when 63 cases were diagnosed.
Jefferson County now has a state-leading 47 cases of the virus, with Fayette County second with 31.
Thursday marked the deadliest day in the U.S. since COVID-19 arrived, with at least 237 deaths. The U.S. has passed China and now leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases with over 83,000. Over 1,170 U.S. deaths are blamed on the virus.
Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said he is cautiously optimistic that after another week social distancing and other efforts to slow the growth of the virus in Kentucky will show a flattening curve.
Beshear, though, warned residents in counties that border Tennessee they may not experience a flattening of cases because of that state’s tepid response to the virus.
“That may be tougher for some of those that are on borders of other states, like Tennessee,” Beshear said. “We are seeing other states that may not have the same restrictions and commitment that we do, have numerous cases just south of the border.”
Tennessee, with a population of about seven million, has recorded 957 COVID-19 cases.
Briefing notes
The governor asked mayors and county judge-executives to monitor people gathering in public places such as parks and stop them if people are not practicing social distancing, risking the spread of COVID-19.
Beshear said when the state rolls out drive-through testing it will still be for those who need it the most. He said the state had a better week than last week securing personal protective gear and that Kentucky has spent more than $8 million on the equipment.
Beshear, along with the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet, took executive action to establish the Team Kentucky Fund, a GoFundMe-style online platform to provide financial help to Kentuckians whose employment has been adversely affected by the coronavirus. The governor challenged those who are able to help to make a tax-deductible donation to the fund.
He announced the COVID-19 Reporting Hotline (833-597-2337) that will result in the investigation of complaints about non-compliance of coronavirus mandates. Labor Cabinet personnel will monitor the hotline from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. eastern standard time. A new website where Kentuckians may visit to make online complaints is kysafer.ky.gov.
Kentucky’s COV-19 website may be found by clicking here.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
