At Tuesday’s coronavirus (COVID-19) briefing, Gov. Andy Beshear said 625 cases of the virus had been confirmed over the previous 24 hours, increasing the state’s total to 5,822 cases.
The governor also reported 14 new deaths on Tuesday, raising the state’s death toll to 275 fatalities (4.7 percent fatality rate).
The deaths include a 79-year-old man and 89-year-old woman from Boone County; an 85-year-old man from Henderson County; a 77-year-old man from Hopkins County; two women, ages 59 and 70, from Jackson County; two men, ages 35 and 91, and two women, ages 63 and 69, from Jefferson County; and three women, ages 86, 88 and 96, and a 94-year-old man from Kenton County.
The 625 cases reported on Tuesday were the most COVID-19 cases confirmed in any 24 hour period in Kentucky since the onset of the pandemic. The Green River Correctional Complex, a minimum/medium security prison in Muhlenberg County, was responsible for 309 of the new cases, as over 1,000 tests have been administered inside the 982-bed facility.
The Central City prison now has 342 COVID-19 positive prisoners and 57 staff members.
J.Michael Brown, secretary of the governor’s executive cabinet, said the facility is being divided into housing units based on test results, contact with infected individuals and those considered medically vulnerable. Brown added that temperature checks and deep sanitizing are also taking place to help reduce the spread of the highly contagious virus.
At least 2,058 (35.3 percent) Kentuckians have recovered from the virus, and 61,013 tests have been administered in the state.
Testing update
Beshear offered an update on expanding efforts to boost testing throughout the commonwealth.
The governor announced a new drive-through testing site in Pikeville, as part of a partnership with the Pike County Health Department, Gravity Labs and Pikeville Medical Center.
The testing is being conducted through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Pikeville Medical Center. The site is capable of conducting 70 tests per day.
For more information on testing locations and how to sign up visit, kycovid19.ky.gov.
Unemployment insurance
Josh Benton, deputy secretary of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, provided three updates to the state’s response to an unprecedented number of unemployment insurance claims.
He said there were changes coming to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
“This is primarily for individuals who do not normally qualify for unemployment insurance,” Benton said. “There’s about 100,000 of those individuals currently receiving benefits on this program.”
He said the minimum benefit for Kentuckians on PUA is $176 per week. Recipients need to request the benefits online every two weeks. To make things easier, people can submit wage history from last year to calculate the benefits.
“In more cases than not, it’s going to increase their benefit amount above that $176 a week,” Benton said.
Second, Benton said employers will now be able to report return-to-work dates for their employees at https://kewes.ky.gov/. Benton said there were several exceptions, including for workers who are in at-risk categories or who are caring for at-risk relatives.
Finally, Benton said officials were working to clear the final claims from March and that the few remaining outstanding issues had to do with disagreements with the employer about the terms of separation.
More information
Read about other key updates, actions and information from Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
