FRANKFORT, Ky. — Dr. Debroah Birx from the White House coronavirus response team visited Gov. Andy Beshear Sunday. The governor said he may have some new announcements and recommendations coming.
“I will not let us become an Alabama, a Florida or an Arizona,” said Beshear. “We’ve got to take proactive steps and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Birx met with Beshear on Sunday to go over the state’s response to the pandemic. She said in order to prevent the commonwealth from slipping into dangerous territory, the state should close bars again and limit restaurant capacity even further.
Birx also visited Indiana July 24 to speak with school leaders on safely reopening schools.
“We can see what is happening in the south moving north,” said Birx.
She said the current wave of COVID-19 cases spreading throughout the country is already well on its way to Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana and recommends states act now to get things under control.
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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 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, 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 Beshear. “Thankfully today’s numbers are lower than what we’ve seen recently, but we know less testing comes in on Sundays.”
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.
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