Visit the Governor’s Facebook page to watch today’s news conference

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 5, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in the commonwealth.

“This is not going to last forever,” the Governor said. “We are going to make it through, but we are going to have to do what it takes to make sure as many of our fellow Kentuckians make it through with us and that we protect each other’s lives, lift up our economy and do everything we can to get our kids back in school.”

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. Aug. 5, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 32,741 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 546 of which were newly reported Wednesday. Twenty-one of the newly reported cases were from children ages 5 and younger, including seven kids under a year in age with one of those being only 18 days old.

“Today’s number strongly suggests and I believe it’s evidence that face coverings are working,” the Governor said. “Proving that even when other parts of the country may be escalating out of control, that we can still control our own destiny here in Kentucky with a small act that shows we care about each other.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported one new death Wednesday, raising the total to 752 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The death reported Wednesday was a 71-year-old woman from Logan County.

“That is still one family that will need our help,” Gov. Beshear said. “We pray and think about this family and what they must be going through, as we have with all of the families.”

As of Wednesday, there have been at least 663,100 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 5.51%. At least 8,467 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

“I believe you are doing the right thing, the vast majority of people are wearing a face covering and it is making a difference,” the Governor said. “It looks like we are stopping a very dangerous situation from occurring and we need to keep it up.”

For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here. To see all recent daily reports, click here.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 4, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in the commonwealth.

“This is a devastating virus, and it’s one that we have got to battle against, but we know how,” the Governor said.

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. Aug. 4, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 32,197 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 700 of which were newly reported Tuesday. Eighteen of the newly reported cases were from children ages 5 and younger, including a 2-month-old and a 6-month-old in Jefferson County. In addition, a 1-year-old in Metcalfe County was positively diagnosed after being exposed to the coronavirus at church and recently traveled to Tennessee.

“We hope to see the trend we think we had over the past couple weeks continue, which is a slow of the growth,” the Governor said. “While today we have a higher number than we did at this time last week, we believe there is a general leveling off though today there are more cases than last week.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported seven new deaths Tuesday, raising the total to 751 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Monday include a 53-year-old man from Calloway County; a 70-year-old man from Daviess County; two women, ages 45 and 69, and an 81-year-old man from Jefferson County; a 50-year-old man from Kenton County; and a 95-year-old woman from Ohio County.

“That is seven more than we ever want to lose,” Gov. Beshear said. “Let me warn you that this is probably going to be a really tough month as far as our losses in Kentucky.”

As of Tuesday, there have been at least 650,093 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 5.24%. At least 8,406 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here. To see all recent daily reports, click here.

First Lady Launches Coverings for Kids Program
First Lady Britainy Beshear on Tuesday launched a new program, Coverings for Kids, that will help Kentuckians to donate facial coverings directly to school districts.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 3, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in the commonwealth.

“July was the toughest month, with the largest number yet of overall positive cases. Unfortunately, that will have negative ramifications for August,” the Governor said. “We find we often lose Kentuckians several weeks after they test positive. That means we are likely to have a larger number of deaths in August.”

Despite this, Gov. Beshear said, there is reason for optimism.

“The numbers are telling us that facial coverings and masks are working,” he said. “We were facing what looked like exponential growth. In order to see our cases go down, we had to slow the increase. That’s why the mask mandate was necessary. If we had done nothing, by now, we would have been seeing 1,000 new cases every day, but instead we are seeing the increase drop off.”

To reinforce the effectiveness of wearing a face covering, the Governor unveiled MaskUpKY, a new statewide public service campaign aimed at encouraging the use of masks by everyone in the commonwealth, along with a new hashtag – #MaskUpKY – to promote facial coverings on social media.

“We know that if we can get the majority of Kentuckians to wear a mask when you go in public, we can make a major difference,” Gov. Beshear said. “If we want to get our kids back in school, reopen our economy, keep each other safe and get to a new normal, we need every Kentuckian to wear a mask or facial covering. It’s that simple.”

The Governor said that over the next couple of months, Kentuckians are going to be hearing from a number of their fellow citizens about the importance of wearing a mask.

He showed one of several new public service announcement featuring his simple message: Don’t put it off. Put it on.

“When we are united in this fight, we are protecting ourselves, each other and our state's economy,” he said. “Do it for Team Kentucky.”

Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said Kentuckians’ willingness to comply with the mandates is working.

“I think we have a lot to be proud of in Kentucky. It’s been hard and taken a real toll on us, but the evidence shows that we have done a good job from a medical standpoint,” Dr. Stack said. “We now appear to have flattened the curve again. We can see that taking the right steps and doing it consistently works. We hope to see the curve stay flat, and go back down again.”

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 31, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

“The health and the lives of people around you, our economy and how fast we can build it back, and our ability to get our kids in school depend on you. Let’s beat COVID-19,” said Gov. Beshear.

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. July 31, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 30,151 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 778 of which were newly reported Friday. Twenty-three of the newly reported cases were from children ages 5 and younger.

“Our positivity rate has decreased for the third straight day. But, we still have too many cases and we need to do everything we can to try to decrease those. We’re also seeing an increase of patients in the ICU,” said Gov. Beshear.

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported four new deaths Friday, raising the total to 735 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Friday include a 75-year-old man from Fayette County; an 86-year-old woman from Jefferson County; a 63-year-old man from Perry County; and an 80-year-old woman from Taylor County.

“Sadly, we are also reporting four new deaths,” said Gov. Beshear. “Kentucky, we know what it takes. Let’s mask up.”

As of Friday, there have been at least 629,706 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 5.43%. At least 7,481 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.

Contact Tracing Update
Yesterday, Mark Carter, executive policy advisor at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, updated Kentuckians on contact tracing and tracking across the commonwealth, an effort that Carter leads. To learn more, read yesterday’s full release.

COVID-19 Long-Term Side Effects Update
Yesterday, Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health, provided an update on the known long-term side effects of COVID-19. To learn more, read yesterday’s full release.

More Information
Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Kentuckians can also access translated COVID-19 information and daily summaries of the Governor’s news conference at teamkentuckytranslations.com.

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Visit the Governor’s Facebook page to watch today’s news conference

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 30, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

“Remember, we as a commonwealth, as a country and as planet Earth are in this war against this 1-in-100-year pandemic,” said Gov. Beshear. “It means we’ve got to show up every day to protect the health and lives of those around us, protect our economy and do everything we can to get our kids back in school.”

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. July 30, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 29,386 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 659 of which were newly reported Thursday. Twenty-two of the newly reported cases were from children ages 5 and younger.

“Our cases are a little up from yesterday, but our positivity rate is down because we’ve had more tests,” said Gov. Beshear. “Once we get the virus under control, we have to keep it under control. We can’t stop. We can’t let up. Until we have that vaccine, we’ve got to do what it takes.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported seven new deaths Thursday, raising the total to 731 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Thursday include a 75-year-old man from Casey County; a 65-year-old man from Christian County; a 92-year-old woman from Green County; an 82-year-old man from Greenup County; an 81-year-old woman from Ohio County; a 63-year-old woman from Simpson County; and a 70-year-old woman from Warren County.

“More and more people in their sixties,” said Gov. Beshear. “We know we are in this battle – and that now is a critical time to fight.”

As of Thursday, there have been at least 621,206 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 5.66%. At least 7,590 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.

Contact Tracing Update
Today, Mark Carter, executive policy advisor at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, updated Kentuckians on contact tracing and tracking across the commonwealth, an effort that Carter leads.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 27, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday announced several new measures to stem the rising number of cases of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in the commonwealth.

“At a time when Kentucky is dealing with a surge in the coronavirus, knowing where other states have gone and knowing what it takes to stop it from happening here, let’s remember that we’re going to get through this, and we’re going to get through this together, but it’s going to require us to do what’s necessary,” the Governor said. “Wherever you live in Kentucky, the virus is spreading. Our state government and the federal administration have significant agreement on what we need to do right now to make sure we don’t turn into Florida, Texas, Arizona, so many other states going through what could be absolutely devastating for them.”

So, today Gov. Beshear announced the following steps:

• Bars will be closed for two weeks, effective tomorrow, Tuesday, July 28.
• Restaurants will be limited to 25% of pre-pandemic capacity indoors; outdoor accommodations remain limited only by the ability to provide proper social distancing.
• Public and private schools are being asked to avoid offering in-person instruction until the third week of August.

To view the order from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services covering the new restrictions, which goes into effect at midnight tonight, click here.

The Governor and the Kentucky Department for Public Health will monitor case numbers over the next two weeks with the goal of reopening bars and restoring restaurant capacity after that time.

“Let me say, there are a lot of really responsible bar owners out there, and I hate requiring this for them. They are paying for the actions of others, and it’s not fair, but this virus isn’t fair either,” the Governor said. “On restaurants, again, they can do unlimited outdoor seating as long as they can sufficiently spread guests out under social distancing guidelines, and we are going to work with our cities and localities to do what we need to do administratively to allow that outside seating to expand. This is going to hurt a lot of restaurants. But the White House modeling shows that this is absolutely necessary to control the spread at this time when we either become the next Florida, or we get it under control and save the lives of our people and protect our economy.”

Gov. Beshear noted that all of today’s actions were conceived through and backed by guidance from the White House. He said we are currently at a point seen in Florida and Arizona before both of those states saw their cases grow to a point that has threatened their health care infrastructure, which puts even more lives in danger.

Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, highlighted the fact that our fate is in all of our hands when it comes to fighting the coronavirus.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 26, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Sunday updated Kentuckians on the commonwealth’s ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

“I want you to know that the White House and Kentucky state government are in complete agreement that the escalation of cases is going to require us to take some new steps,” said Gov. Beshear. “We’re going to announce those steps tomorrow and we’ll talk through the what and the why behind each one.” 

Case Information
As of 3 p.m. July 26, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 27,079 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 316 of which were newly reported Sunday. Eight new cases were from children ages 5 and younger.

“Kentucky is in that spot now where if we don’t act, we will look a lot like states in the South that are facing devastating consequences,” said Gov. Beshear. “Thankfully today’s numbers are lower than what we’ve seen recently, but we know less testing comes in on Sundays.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported four new deaths Sunday, raising the total to 700 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Sunday include a 70-year-old woman from Harlan County; a 37-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman from Jefferson County; and a 76-year-old man from Ohio County. 

“Last week was a difficult one in the United States and in Kentucky,” said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health. “Nationally, cases surpassed 4.1 million, and in our commonwealth, over 27,000 cases have now been reported. It seems like an eternity since we reported Kentucky’s first positive COVID-19 patient on March 6. Every day is important and the upcoming week will determine which additional measures will be needed to blunt the increase of COVID-19 in our commonwealth. Please avoid crowds, socially distance at least six feet and wear a face covering when in public. Together, Team Kentucky can beat COVID-19.”

For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.

Week in Review
Visit the Governor’s website for more information on this week’s updates, including those on: the new travel advisory, social gatherings limited to 10 people, Kentucky Commercialization Ventures, the state budget, long-term care testing and Healthy at School.

More Information
Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Kentuckians can also access translated COVID-19 information and daily summaries of the Governor’s news conference at teamkentuckytranslations.com.

Visit the Governor’s Facebook page to watch today’s news conference

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 23, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday updated Kentuckians on the state’s ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

“This week we have seen some of our highest number of cases of the coronavirus going all the way back to the start of dealing with this pandemic in Kentucky on March 6,” said Gov. Beshear. “These results ought not to make us panic but it also ought to make us get back into the habits that we know help defeat this virus.”

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. July 23, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 25,147 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 611 of which were newly reported Thursday. Twenty-one new cases were from children age 5 and younger.

“Today is one of the highest days we’ve had. Let’s remember every day with a high number of cases is a day we don’t want to have,” said Gov. Beshear. “We continue to see hospital systems in the states to our south running out of ICU beds.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported seven new deaths Thursday, raising the total to 684 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Thursday include a 60-year-old woman from Casey County; a 49-year-old woman from Fayette County, a 57-year-old woman from Jefferson County; a 64-year-old woman from Knox County; two women, ages 88 and 89, from Ohio County; and a 68-year-old woman from Whitley County.

“We’re reporting seven deaths today, and the spread in ages ought to tell us something. The way we need to look at this is everybody can get this virus. No one is immune,” said Gov. Beshear. “Let’s remember to ring those bells – we do it here in the Rotunda every day. Let’s turn on those green lights.”

As of Thursday, there have been at least 565,490 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 4.94%.

At least 7,046 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 21, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday updated Kentuckians on continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) as officials reported the second-highest number of cases in a single day.

“Here in Kentucky, our surge continues as well. Today we are reporting our second-highest daily total of 674 new cases. That’s not good news,” the Governor said. “We have got to be committed to doing better, and I do see a lot of that out there. We’ve got to make sure we are not one of these other states where their cases are exploding. We still have time to act. But we have got to know that we are on that trajectory, we are on that path, without everybody doing the right thing.”

Gov. Beshear stressed the need for everyone to adhere to the mandates and advisories – all based on the guidance and science provide by the White House and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He noted that on Monday he issued a new travel advisory that recommends a 14-day self-quarantine for Kentuckians who travel to nine states – Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas – and Puerto Rico, which are reporting a positive coronavirus testing rate equal to or greater than 15%. In addition, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services issued a new order pulling back the guidance on gatherings to allow only for meet-ups of 10 or fewer people.

“This is the time for statewide action, coming together to get this done,” the Governor said.

He said Kentucky’s facial covering requirement in particular would effectively slow the increase in coronavirus cases, but only if people wear masks.

“It will work. It will absolutely work, and we can do almost everything we want to do,” Gov. Beshear said. “From saving lives to keeping the economy open, if we can do that and get this thing under control, it will make what we can do in schools so much easier. But we need your buy-in to do it.”

Analyzing the numbers, Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said the state’s recent rise in cases is a stark reminder to be more disciplined about wearing masks, maintaining social distance and washing and sanitizing our hands.

“These numbers today are not a surprise,” Dr. Stack said. “They unfortunately validate where we are on this journey. Having nearly 700 new positives puts us solidly at the base of that escalation of the curve. It’s consistent with what we’ve seen in the last week where our numbers clearly broke out of a multimonth stable period.”

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 17, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday announced that the Kentucky Supreme Court has kept in place all executive orders related to the fight against COVID-19, including the mask order, until the court can hear full arguments from the Beshear administration and the attorney general’s office and issue a final ruling.

“As many of you are aware, the attorney general had filed a motion to try to void every single order that had been put out to fight this pandemic,” the Governor said. “That would mean every single set of rules that keep people safe, but that also means workers’ compensation for our first responders when they’ve gotten quarantined because they’ve gotten the virus or been exposed to the virus. It was also almost every bit of flexibility we’ve been able to offer to our schools during this pandemic.”

Early this morning, a Boone Circuit Court Judge was expected to sign an injunction nullifying many of Gov. Beshear’s executive orders on COVID-19. The attorney general challenged the orders put in place to protect Kentucky lives, keep Kentucky from losing more than $10 billion in the economy and to help schools safely reopen this fall.

In an order issued this afternoon by unanimous decision, the Supreme Court stated, “Given the need for a clear and consistent statewide public health policy and recognizing that the Kentucky legislature has expressly given the Governor broad executive powers in a public health emergency, the court orders a stay of all orders of injunctive relief until such time as the various orders are properly before the court with a full record of any evidence and pleadings considered by the lower courts.”

Gov. Beshear commended the Supreme Court’s decision.

“Up until an hour ago, we faced a horribly uncertain future where a request had been made to have zero rules, the Wild West,” he said. “No requirements to wear a mask even though Alabama and Colorado have both done it in the last couple of days. Without requiring businesses to do the cleaning that would make sure that you don’t catch COVID-19. Without the requirement to even wash or sanitize your hands. It threatened all of the extra support that we’ve given to our first responders and it would be devastate our school systems.”

Yesterday, the Governor reminded Kentuckians that in addition to seeking to invalidate the executive orders that keep us safe from COVID-19, the attorney general is also targeting other measures the Beshear administration has put in place to help during this global pandemic. The attorney general’s actions include trying to void:

• Healthy at Work requirements;
• expanded NTI days for public schools, which give them the flexibility to cease in-person classes while continuing virtual instruction;
• expanded workers’ compensation eligibility for workers – including first responders, active military and grocery store employees – who are ordered to quarantine as a result of exposure; and
• a measure that waives copays, deductibles, cost-sharing and diagnostic testing fees for private insurance.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 16, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday updated Kentuckians on the state’s ongoing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) as cases continue to rise in the commonwealth.

“What we are seeing across the country is alarming. We are seeing state after state not just facing escalating cases, but facing devastation,” said Gov. Beshear. “As of today, Florida’s hospitals have now run out of ICU beds. This is when people die because the system is overwhelmed. People are going to die who would not otherwise have died. In Arizona and Texas they are bringing in refrigerated trucks because people are dying so fast, there is no room for them in morgues. That ought to convince everybody of the seriousness of the situation we face and what a critical moment right now is.”

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. July 16, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 21,083 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 413 of which were newly reported Thursday.

The Governor reemphasized that the rising case numbers show the need for everyone to wear a face covering in public or in close quarters with non-immediate family members, as required by his mandate.

“Today, we have a record number of kids under 5 diagnosed with COVID-19. These kids are counting on us to do the right thing,” said Gov. Beshear. “Our new cases come from all types of counties. And remember, deaths follow cases.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported five new deaths Thursday, raising the total to 650 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Thursday include a 91-year-old woman from Fayette County; a 59-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman from Knox County; and an 83-year-old man and a 92-year-old woman from Jefferson County.

“People are going to say this just happens to 90-year-olds, but today we’ve lost a 59-year-old -- 59 years old,” said Gov. Beshear. “When you put up record numbers of cases, while our hospitals are working really hard, we will see more death. When we have fewer appropriate restrictions based on science in place, you know what to expect. How many more people do we have to lose?”

As of Thursday, there have been at least 507,197 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 4.38%. At least 5,500 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 15, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday updated Kentuckians on the state’s ongoing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) as cases continue to rise in the commonwealth.

“I think about this journey that we’ve been on, going back to our first case reported on March the 6th. I remember us taking very aggressive action, and while our actions were working watching what happened in New York, with devastating loss and hospitals overrun. I remember how our story wasn’t that story, because we bought in, we accepted the actions that I had to take – not that I wanted to take – but that we had to take to protect human life. And together, we flattened that curve,” the Governor said. “But now what we see is that same thing that was happening in New York happening in areas like Florida and Arizona, with ICUs filled up, and Arizona is ordering freezer trucks because their morgues are full. And here in Kentucky we are in a new time of escalating cases.”

Dr. Steven Stack, the commissioner of the Department for Public Health, urged Kentuckians to remain on guard and resilient in the face of rising coronavirus cases in the commonwealth.

“The climbing number of positive cases is tough news,” said Dr. Stack. “This crisis remains an overwhelming challenge for all of us. The size of the impact on our lives and potential loss of human lives, however, is not outside our influence. Wear a face mask. Keep a social distance of at least six feet. Thoroughly wash your hands. Answer the call if a contact tracer reaches out to you. These steps will save lives and reduce further spread of this dangerous disease that has so terribly disrupted our lives.”

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. July 15, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 20,677 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 477 of which were newly reported Wednesday.

The Governor emphasized that the rising case numbers show the need for everyone to wear a face covering in public or in close quarters with non-immediate family members, as required by his mandate.

“It shows you how critical this facial covering requirement is,” he said. “And we have to end the silliness. Challenges to this mean the loss of lives and could send us the way of Arizona or Florida, and we don’t want that.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported 10 new deaths Wednesday, raising the total to 645 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Wednesday include a 73-year-old man and a 94-year-old woman from Casey County; a 90-year-old woman and a 96-year-old man from Fayette County; a 67-year-old man from Hardin County; two men, ages 70 and 73, and a 67-year-old woman from Jefferson County; an 88-year-old man from Laurel County; and a 71-year-old woman from Logan County.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 14, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday updated Kentuckians on the state’s ongoing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) as cases continue to rise in the commonwealth.

“COVID-19 is attacking us, and we are at war with this virus. We either come together or we fall apart,” the Governor said. “This virus isn’t playing, and neither are we. And it puts so many at risk when any of us fail to do our part.”

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. July 14, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 20,223 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 576 of which were newly reported Tuesday.

“Today’s report shows we are certainly in a time of escalating cases. And our actions over these next 10 days to 14 days – really through the next 30 days that we have put this face covering requirement out – are going to determine if we continue to be a leader, if we continue to be one of the best states in the country, or if we go the route of Arizona, which is now requesting giant freezer trucks because their morgues are being overrun,” the Governor said. “It depends on our willingness to come together and do the right thing, and today should be just one more wake-up call that we’ve got to do it now.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported six new deaths Tuesday, raising the total to 635 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Tuesday include a 44-year-old woman from Carter County; an 89-year-old woman from Casey County; a 65-year-old man from Fayette County; a 77-year-old man from Floyd County; an 82-year-old man from Ohio County; and 72-year-old woman from Shelby County.

“Turn on those green lights for these people. Please. There are multiple counties here that have never had a loss before and they do now, and with thinking that there is going to be worse to come, let’s make sure we amp up our compassion and are there for one another,” said Gov. Beshear. “There are going to be a lot of people who need our help in the coming days.”

As of Tuesday, there have been at least 494,343 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 3.95%. At least 5,389 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.