A fifth person has died from the coronavirus in Kentucky, but Governor Andy Beshear says sacrifices made by people across the commonwealth to reduce the number of people getting sick are working.
The death was a 75-year old man from Jefferson County, who had other underlying health conditions.
There are 198 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the commonwealth, up 35 from Tuesday. The governor said Kentucky was likely one of a very few states in the country with less new cases Wednesday than what was announced Tuesday.
Governor Beshear thanked Kentuckians for ‘buying in’ to social distance directives, assuring them it’s working and showed a chart depicting a slower climb in the number of cases for Kentucky than several other states in the region.
Public Health Commissioner, Dr. Steven Stack says college students should self-quarantine for a couple weeks if they chose to go to the beach for spring break and Governor Beshear says there’s already one case where an individual who went to Florida came back with the virus.
In an announcement that was alluded to for several days, Governor Beshear says independent contractors, substitute teachers and others who normally aren’t eligible for unemployment will be able to receive benefits due to an exception made during these exceptional times.
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The governor is also suspending any evictions for the time being as his administration is closing businesses and asking people to be “safe at home.”
He directed Kentuckians to kycovid19.ky.gov for more information and again asked them to continue social distancing and frequent hand-washing practices.
Watch entire briefing below:
https://www.facebook.com/GovAndyBeshear/videos/603775723544203/?epa=SEARCH_BOX