Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear reported 3,728 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, while announcing plans to bring broadband internet service to the whole state.
Ten to fifteen percent of Kentucky students did not have reliable internet access at the start of the pandemic, and while that number has dropped, according to Lt. Governor Jacquelyn Coleman, they are working to get internet access to every citizen. She urged every Kentuckian to go online to the state’s website and take a free ‘speed test’ to help them narrow their focus on where to go next with the service.
Governor Beshear says even those who have no internet access are asked to find a way to participate, so they can respond quickly to bring service there. The Governor noted that the budget proposal he recently offered up before the General Assembly contains $50 million dedicated to the last mile of broadband to areas in need.
Kentucky’s mortality rate for COVID-19 is 1.0 percent, below the national average of 1.7 percent.
The positivity rate is at 11.05 percent, continuing the declining trend—58 more Kentuckians have died, a record for the Commonwealth, putting the death toll at 3,301.
The Tennessee Department of Health reported 3,492 new cases of coronavirus, along with 128 new deaths, putting the total of deaths in the Volunteer State at 8,684.