Governor Andy Beshear announced 282 new cases of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth during Tuesday’s update, saying the evidence shows the state is still in a plateau.
Those 282 new cases puts the overall total at 15,624, with Governor Beshear saying that the cases remain at a manageable level and hospital capacity remains good.
He says masks are becoming more important than ever to keep cases from rising—and if everyone wears one while out in public, it will keep Kentucky healthy. He says while other states are starting to make wearing masks mandatory, he doesn’t think Kentucky is there yet.
Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack says the sacrifices people have made during this pandemic to stay healthy is proven in the flattening of the curve and reiterated the importance of keeping up those health guidelines.
Five more Kentuckians have died, putting that total at 565 since the pandemic began. With testing continue to rise in the state, 404,781 people have been tested and 3,990 have recovered from the illness. The deadline to apply for the P-EBT student feeding program has been extended into August. Speaking on possible budget shortfalls, Governor Beshear says that if the federal government does not provide assistance to state governments, Kentucky could see a $1.1 billion shortfall in the 2021 budget. That could result in cuts ranging from 16 percent to 29 percent to departments.
The Tennessee Department of Health is reporting 1,212 new cases of COVID-19 there, putting the total there at 43,509 and 12 more deaths to 604. Montgomery County is at 479 cases, Robertson County is reporting 776 cases and Stewart County is at 21 cases.