Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says COVID-19 continues to surge in the state, reporting 2,342 new cases from Wednesday to Thursday.
The positivity rate also rose, up to 8.29 percent, the highest it has been since early May. Governor Beshear says things must change and soon, or not only will people be impacted by the virus, so will the state’s economy. He urged people to show compassion for those around them and do those things that must be done to keep themselves and others safe.
Eighteen Kentuckians have now died in relation to COVID-19, putting the death toll in the Commonwealth at 1,622.
Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander says P-EBT benefits have been slower to get out than they would have liked—but now they have nearly distributed 500,000 cards to help children have food during the pandemic.
There are now 94 counties who are listed as ‘red’ and ‘critical’ on the state incidence rate map, including Christian, Trigg, Caldwell, Logan, Hopkins and Muhlenberg locally. Todd and Lyon counties are showing as ‘orange’ on the map.
The Tennessee Department of Health is reporting 3,344 new COVID-19 cases there, along with 27 new deaths. Montgomery County gained 54 new cases, Robertson County saw 12, and Stewart County reported seven.