Gov. Beshear urges calm as they wait for more information about new variant

Governor Andy Beshear is urging people to not panic about any new variants of COVID-19 just yet, as they wait for more information to come in.

The omicron variant that was recently identified has put health officials on alert, but Governor Beshear says there’s still too many unknowns about it to start worrying just yet—he says when they get more information, they’ll put it out to the public as soon as possible.

He says even without new variants, they’ve seen an uptick in new COVID-19 case numbers in recent days, and he urged everyone to get the vaccine or a booster shot just to make sure you are as protected as possible.

The positivity rate was back above eight percent and hospitalizations have also seen an uptick recently—Governor Beshear says we’ve been here before and know what to do to stay safe, so he says if you feel like you need to mask back up or avoid large, indoor gatherings, you can always do those things once again.