FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 26, 2020) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear reported 953 COVID-19 cases in Kentucky and issued new red zone reduction recommendations to stop COVID-19 spread and protect Kentuckians in the 55 counties currently in the red zone.

The Governor said today marked the highest number of new cases ever reported on a Monday as cases are at an all-time high across the country and in the commonwealth. Hospitalizations and deaths are also increasing nationally and in Kentucky. New red zone recommendations provide direction on how communities can come together to defeat COVID-19.

“Every Kentuckian in a red zone county needs to work together to protect one another by following these recommendations,” Gov. Beshear said. “Now is not the time to give up – this is a time when more people are going to be at risk. It is a time when we need everyone to do better.”

Red zone counties are those with 25 or more average daily cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents. Red zone counties are updated daily on the incidence rate map on kycovid19.ky.gov. The Governor said when a county turns red, we are already asking schools to go virtual, we ask for sports to pause and we restrict visitation in long-term care facilities.

Red Zone Reduction Recommendations:

• Employers should allow employees to work from home when possible
• Government offices that do not provide critical services need to operate virtually
• Reduce in-person shopping; order online or pickup curbside as much as possible
• Order take-out; avoid dining in restaurants or bars
• Prioritize businesses that follow and enforce the mask mandate and other guidelines
• Reschedule, postpone or cancel public events
• Do not host or attend gatherings of any size
• Avoid non-essential activities outside your home
• Reduce overall activity and contacts, and follow existing guidance, including the 10 Steps to Defeat COVID-19

“This isn’t too much to ask to keep your neighbors and your loved ones alive,” said Gov. Beshear.

“It is not a good time to be out in public. This is the most dangerous it has been in eight months,” said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health. “The risk of you getting infected in the state of Kentucky has never been higher.”

The Governor reminded Kentuckians of existing actions and guidance his administration has taken to protect Kentuckians, including: a mask mandate; Healthy at Work requirements for bars and restaurants, businesses and retail, health care, employers, childcare and indoor and outdoor arenas; a travel advisory and an order limiting private gatherings to 10 people or less. The administration has also implemented guidance to help long-term care facilities, correctional institutions, colleges and universities, K-12 schools, sports groups and published the 10 Steps to Defeat COVID-19.

Case Information – Monday, Oct. 26
As of 4 p.m. Monday, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

• New cases today: 953
• New deaths today: 3
• Positivity rate: 5.84%
• Total deaths: 1,410
• Currently hospitalized: 858
• Currently in ICU: 253
• Currently on ventilator: 112

The top counties with the most positive cases today are: Jefferson, Fayette, Kenton and Floyd.

A list of the red counties can be found here.

Those reported lost to the virus today include a 75-year-old man from Garrard County; a 73-year-old woman from Graves County; and a 54-year-old man from Lewis County.

Gov. Beshear reminds Kentuckians to light their homes and businesses up green to show compassion for those lost to COVID-19.

The Governor said unfortunately there have been eight total COVID-19 deaths from the Thomas-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore. Ten patients from the facility are currently in the hospital, 51 still have symptoms and four have recovered. There have been 49 total staff cases at the facility, and 26 of those staffers have recovered.

Case Information – Sunday, Oct. 25
Due to limited reporting on the weekends, some updated information is now available from Sunday, Oct. 25. As of Sunday, the positivity rate was 5.81%.

More Information
To view the full daily report, incidence rate map, testing locations, long term-care and other congregate facilities update, school reports, the White House Coronavirus Task Force reports for Kentucky and other key guidance visit, kycovid19.ky.gov.

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

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 25, 2020) – On Sunday, Gov. Andy Beshear said Kentucky unfortunately has set a new record for the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a week since the pandemic began, with 9,335 positive cases this week.

The previous highest week of COVID-19 cases was Oct. 5-11, when the commonwealth reported 7,675 new cases. Today also marks the highest number of new cases ever reported on a Sunday, with 1,462 cases.

“Since March 6, Kentuckians have been fighting COVID-19, yet we are facing the highest number of cases ever reported on a Sunday, and the highest week of new cases. We must do better,” Gov. Beshear said. “We all know the steps we need to take to stop the spread of this virus – wear a facial covering, wash your hands, stay six feet apart and limit gatherings and travel – let’s all do these simple things to protect each other.”

Yesterday, the Governor said he will be talking Monday about new recommendations to counties that are in the red zone, those with 25 or more average daily cases per 100,000 residents. The Governor plans to hold 4 p.m. briefings Monday through Thursday this week to update Kentuckians on COVID-19 and necessary next steps.

Case Information
Due to limited reporting^* on Sundays, some information will be delayed until Monday. As of 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

• New cases today: 1,462
• New deaths today: 3
• Positivity rate: Reported Monday^*
• Total deaths: 1,407
• Currently hospitalized: 841
• Currently in ICU: 231
• Currently on ventilator: 106

Top counties with the most positive cases today are Jefferson, Elliott, Kenton, Fayette, Warren, Bullitt and Shelby.

Those reported lost to the virus today include an 87-year-old woman from Fayette County; a 74-year-old woman from Grayson County and an 83-year-old man from Spencer County.

Gov. Beshear reminds Kentuckians to light their homes and businesses up green to show compassion for those lost to COVID-19.

More Information
To view the full daily report, incidence rate map, testing locations, long term-care and other congregate facilities update, school reports, the White House Coronavirus Task Force reports for Kentucky and other key guidance visit, kycovid19.ky.gov.

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

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 24, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday he is excited to be out of quarantine, but today’s COVID-19 report is, “in a word, frightening.” The Governor said this is Kentucky’s highest day of newly reported cases by a significant amount, except for the one day when a backlog of cases from Fayette County was added.

“This is exploding all over the country. Yesterday was the highest amount of cases ever reported in a single day in the United States,” Gov. Beshear said. “We've got to do better, and on Monday we'll be talking about new recommendations to counties that are in the red. We've got to tamp down these cases. The more cases, the more people that end up in the hospital and the more people die.”

Case Information
As of 3 p.m. Oct. 24, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

• New cases today: 1,738
• New deaths today: 8
• Positivity rate: 5.63%
• Total deaths: 1,404
• Currently hospitalized: 840
• Currently in ICU: 208
• Currently on ventilator: 107

Top counties with the most positive cases today are: Jefferson, Fayette, Elliott, Shelby and Kenton.

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported eight new deaths Saturday, bringing the total number of Kentuckians now lost to the virus is 1,404.

“That’s eight additional families who are suffering during this time,” said Gov. Beshear. “Do what it takes to protect your neighbor, to protect their life. That's what we're fighting for now – life and death.”

The deaths reported Saturday include a 69-year-old woman from Lee County; a 70-year-old man from Lincoln County; a 71-year-old man from Jessamine County; a 89-year-old man from Jessamine County; an 86-year-old man from Greenup County; an 89-year-old man from Henderson County; a 71-year-old man from Jefferson County and a 79-year-old man from Harlan.

“We’re all tired of COVID-19 and the problems it has brought,” said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health. “People are hurting, whether from the virus itself or the impact it has had on the rest of our lives. It’s all worse, though, when we don’t do simple things like wearing masks and socially distancing. As October comes to a close, please be kind to each other and remember that we help each other, and ourselves, when we focus on defeating the virus rather than arguing with each other.”

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.

Information about COVID-19 and schools is also being made available. To view the reports, click here for K-12 and here for colleges and universities.

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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This year, families must do things differently to protect each other; online guidance can help
Visit the Governor’s Facebook page to watch today’s news conference

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 22, 2020) – As we get closer to Halloween, Gov. Andy Beshear said many kids, including his own, are very excited about the holiday. He encouraged Kentucky families to make plans now for how to celebrate safely as COVID-19 cases rise across the commonwealth.

Kentucky is in the red zone for cases, according to the White House. There are more Kentuckians hospitalized with COVID-19 now than ever before.

“Remember, the CDC doesn’t think we ought to be trick-or-treating at all. I know kids are going to do it. I know how excited our kids are to do it, so please make your plan on how you are going to follow these steps to do it safely,” said Gov. Beshear. “It’s a sacrifice, but I’d like to think it’s a small sacrifice to better protect our people, our children and our seniors.”

The Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) has shared guidance online to help people choose fun, low-risk Halloween activities. Among the suggestions:

• At all events and activities, wear a face covering, sanitize hands often and maintain six feet of distance from others.
• Place individually wrapped candy outside on the porch, driveway or table.
• If you plan to trick-or-treat, do so in family groups in your own neighborhood and avoid congregating in large groups.
• Consider safer alternatives to trick-or-treating, including virtual Halloween costume contests, drive-by costume or car decorating contests with judges who are social distancing or a Halloween movie or game night at your home with your family.

The full KDPH Halloween guidance is available in English and Spanish; a one-page summary is also available in English and Spanish.

Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the KDPH, also updated Kentuckians that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now defines a “close contact” as someone who was within six feet of an infected individual for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. The CDC previously defined a “close contact” as someone who spent at least 15 consecutive minutes within six feet of a confirmed coronavirus case. 

“In the state of Kentucky, if you have a high-risk exposure, we’re going to expect you to quarantine. That’s how we keep the disease low,” said Dr. Stack. “And the sad irony in this is when people disregard this, that’s when the problem gets bigger and bigger and more and more people are affected by the interventions we have to take. So if you get a call, I really urge you to follow the great example set by the First Family.”