Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced 413 new cases Thursday of COVID-19 and five new deaths.
That puts the overall total since this began at 21,083 and the Governor says the state is facing a grave threat in this coronavirus pandemic, and the measures that are place now have been instated to keep Kentucky from becoming the next pandemic hot spot. There have been 507,197 tests administered in the state, which puts the positivity rate now at 4.38 percent and Governor Beshear says when it begins to reach five percent it will be very concerning.
He also reported that 13 children under the age of five tested positive for COVID-19 from Wednesday to Thursday. Five more Kentuckians have died, putting the total at 650.
In an update about unemployment, Governor Beshear hours have been added, along with hours on Saturday, and there are currently 5,060 unprocessed claims remaining from March—he’s hopeful the state contractor will be able to catch up those claims quickly.
He says that the next few weeks will be very important in determining what the future of school looks like in the Commonwealth—and it’s undoubtedly going to look very different, even if in-person. When asked about a possible travel ban, the Governor says it’s too early to make a decision like that.
The Tennessee Department of Health is reporting an additional 2,479 COVID-19 cases there, putting the new total at 71,540—there were 13 more deaths, up to 796. Montgomery County is at 974, Robertson County is at 1,084 and Stewart County is reporting 35 cases.