FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 15, 2021) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear updated Kentuckians about COVID-19 case information and vaccines, as well as security measures at the State Capitol this weekend.

“These case numbers are still far too high, but there is hopeful news today, too. We are on track as we ramp up to meet our goal of administering 90% of all vaccine received within seven days of arrival,” said Gov. Beshear. “In fact, last week we administered more doses of vaccine than we received.”

The Governor said 325,625 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been received in Kentucky and 190,547 doses have been administered. Of those doses, 31,158 have been administered to long-term care facility residents and staff.

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

New cases today: 3,955
New deaths today: 19
Positivity rate: 12.09%
Total deaths: 3,061
Currently hospitalized: 1,644
Currently in ICU: 392
Currently on ventilator: 203

Top counties with the most positive cases today are: Jefferson, Oldham, Fayette, Kenton and Boone. Each of these counties reported 160 or more new cases; Jefferson County alone reported 584.

To see a list of those reported lost to the virus today, click here.

Security at Capitol Increased for Next Several Days
Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced heightened security measures around the Kentucky State Capitol grounds in Frankfort following the Jan. 6 attack by domestic terrorists on the U.S. Capitol.

To learn more, see the full release and this video.

More Information
To view the full daily report, incidence rate map, information on testing locations, vaccines, contact tracing, school reports and guidance, guidance for health care providers and the White House Coronavirus Task Force reports for Kentucky and more, visit kycovid19.ky.gov.

Kentuckians can listen to translated audio summaries (created in partnership with RadioLex) of the Governor’s Jan. 14 update on unemployment insurance, the state’s partnership with Kroger to expand vaccinations in the commonwealth and more here: Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish.

###

Governor, state officials also update Kentuckians on unemployment insurance, vaccine progress; state surpasses 3,000 COVID-19 deaths

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 14, 2021) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear, state officials and Kroger leadership announced a new partnership to significantly increase the speed of COVID-19 vaccinations across the commonwealth.

The first Kroger regional, drive-through vaccination sites will open the week of Feb. 1 for Kentuckians in Phase 1A, 1B and 1C. For more details on who is included in each phase, click here. On Jan. 28, the Governor said more details would be announced on site locations and how to sign up.

“Last year, when we were wondering when anybody who wanted a COVID-19 test would be able to get one, Kroger made that a reality. That testing partnership created the national model for surge testing,” said Gov. Beshear. “These drive-through vaccination sites are fantastic news all Kentuckians, and we’re grateful to the entire Kroger team for making it possible. Your help in this effort will save countless lives.”

The Governor announced that Transportation Secretary Jim Gray has also been named Director of the Vaccine Distribution Project.

“This is all about Team Kentucky delivering on an ambitious, life-saving project,” said Secretary Gray. “This regional system will grow over time to reach even more Kentuckians. As we speak, we are working to get sites evaluated and secured. We are committed to ensuring equitable distribution of the vaccine and everyone will have their turn.”

“We are proud to partner with the state on efforts to make sure all Kentuckians have access to the COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible,” said Meggen Brown, Chief Nursing Officer and National Clinical Director at Kroger Health. “Kroger Health’s vision is to help people live healthier lives, and that has never been more important.”

Vaccinations have already begun for K-12 school personnel through individual school districts and will continue to ramp up over the next few weeks. The Governor said the state expects to finish administering initial vaccination doses for K-12 educators and support staff the week of Feb. 1.

“The great news is, we expect to finish first dose vaccinations for school staff the week we said we would start,” said Gov. Beshear.

The Governor urged Kentuckians to be patient as vaccine allocations from the federal government are still far too small to cover everyone in Phase 1A, 1B and 1C who wants to be vaccinated. However, it is critically important that the state gets vaccines into arms quickly. That means in some cases, vaccine providers will need to vaccinate Kentuckians out of the phase sequence in order to meet the state’s goal of administering 90% of vaccines within one week of their arrival at a distribution site.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 13, 2021) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced the state’s fourth-highest report of new COVID-19 cases and third-highest report of new COVID-19 deaths.

“We’re going to pass 3,000 COVID-19 deaths in the commonwealth,” said Gov. Beshear. “That is tragic. We can stop this. We need to wear masks. We need to follow the rules and restrictions, and now is not the time to pull away the authority that keeps us safe. That allows us to be fluid and flexible with a virus that appears to be mutating and spreading more aggressively.”

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

New cases today: 4,560
New deaths today: 47
Positivity rate: 12.29%
Total deaths: 2,991
Currently hospitalized: 1,702
Currently in ICU: 403
Currently on ventilator: 225

Top counties with the most positive cases today are: Jefferson, Oldham, Kenton, Fayette, Daviess and Boone. Each of these counties reported 160 or more new cases; Jefferson County alone reported 664.

To see a list of those reported lost to the virus today, click here.

More Information
To view the full daily report, incidence rate map, information on testing locations, vaccines, contact tracing, school reports and guidance, guidance for health care providers and the White House Coronavirus Task Force reports for Kentucky and more, visit kycovid19.ky.gov.

###

Governor also updates Kentuckians on Unemployment One-Time Relief Payment Program

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 12, 2021) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced more than 3,000 cases and shared more details on the state’s unemployment one-time relief payment program.

“This is the fourth-highest Tuesday, it’s higher than the last couple weeks, so we’re trying to determine where these numbers are going,” said Gov. Beshear. “We are sure that this is a surge caused by gatherings through the holidays, but there is a chance from what we are seeing in the data that while people gathered during the holidays, maybe now they’ve changed their behavior back to be being very careful. If that’s the case, hopefully we’ll see a leveling off, but only the data over the next week is going to let us know.”

Gov. Beshear also expressed concerns Tuesday about the Kentucky House of Representatives moving forward with an impeachment petition even though it was filed by four individuals who have made threatening comments and organized extremist rallies, including those where heavily armed men hung the Governor in effigy and another held at the State Capitol last weekend.

Unemployment One-Time Relief Payment Program
Today, Gov. Beshear signed an executive order creating the Unemployment One-Time Relief Payment Program to be administered by the Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI) and funded by Coronavirus Relief Fund money for up to $48 million. The program will provide one-time supplemental payments to claimants:

1. $400 to claimants under any OUI program who: (a) would otherwise have qualified for 2020 FEMA Lost Wages Assistance but their weekly benefit amount was below $100, and (b) who had an approved claim in November and December 2020 but a weekly benefit amount of less than $176. Approximately 25,000 Kentuckians are eligible for this payment; and
2. $1,000 to claimants under any OUI program between March 4 and Oct. 31, 2020, with verified identities and no indication of fraud, but whose claims were not yet adjudicated and paid. Approximately 16,500 Kentuckians are eligible for this payment.

“For those who were able to file a claim, we want to help these people until we can get to their claims,” said Gov. Beshear. “And we want to help the people who were working regular, full-time jobs before this crisis but still didn’t make enough to qualify for Lost Wages Assistance when they lost their jobs.”

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

New cases today: 3,053
New deaths today: 22
Positivity rate: 12.23%
Total deaths: 2,944
Currently hospitalized: 1,733
Currently in ICU: 397
Currently on ventilator: 205

Top counties with the most positive cases today are: Jefferson, Madison, Kenton, Fayette, Boone and Warren. Each of these counties reported 90 or more new cases; Jefferson County alone reported 368.

To see a list of those reported lost to the virus today, click here.

More Information
To view the full daily report, incidence rate map, information on testing locations, vaccines, contact tracing, school reports and guidance, guidance for health care providers and the White House Coronavirus Task Force reports for Kentucky and more, visit kycovid19.ky.gov.

###

Governor condemns domestic terrorism, unveils letter from CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield saying public health guidance should not be written into law

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 11, 2021) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases, condemned domestic terrorism and said General Assembly actions that would significantly limit the state’s ability to fight the deadly virus are dangerous and unfeasible.

“We’ve seen some bills move through the General Assembly that attempt to create new ways of addressing the coronavirus,” said Gov. Beshear. “One bill that passed attempted to put U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines into law as the law that could be enforced. Today I received a letter from Dr. Robert Redfield, CDC director, cautioning against this.”

“I want to make it clear that CDC guidance should not be interpreted as regulation; rather, they are meant as recommendations. It should be used in consideration for specific state and/or local regulations, but this guidance is meant to be flexible and adaptable,” Dr. Redfield said. “It is not meant to be prescriptive or interpreted as standards that can be regulated.”

The CDC consistently has backed the effectiveness of Gov. Beshear’s restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 in restaurants and bars, gyms, schools and other venues.

On Monday, Gov. Beshear also condemned domestic terrorists and a threat made at public health commissioner Dr. Steven Stack’s home.

“One of the ways we absolutely know what individuals attempted to do, in terms of harming or kidnapping elected officials, were the zip ties some of those individuals carried into the U.S. Capitol and to our State Capitol,” said Gov. Beshear. “These aren’t people who believe in the rule of law; they are people who believe they can take the law into their own hands to bully and intimidate others. We here in Kentucky will not be bullied. Anybody who believes that domestic terror is the way to go, we’ll be ready for you. And to those who in their elected positions will use the words of hate or anger, and will try to stir it up – stop.

“Someone vandalized our own Dr. Stack’s home, spray-painting ‘COVID is PCR fraud’ on his mailbox. This wasn’t about the spray paint. It was about those individuals trying to create terror, saying we know where you live and we know how to get to you. But we will not let that happen. Because of Dr. Stack’s work, thousands of people are alive today who wouldn’t have been without him. Trying to create fear in his family is the lowest form of low.”

Today, in accordance with a proclamation from the White House, Gov. Beshear directed that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff until sunset Jan. 13, as a sign of respect for the service and sacrifice of United States Capitol Police Officers Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood, as well as law enforcement in Kentucky and across the country. For more information, see the full release here.