Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says it’s time to respond with urgency to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as he announced 456 new cases Monday.
He says last week had one of the highest number of new cases for a week since the pandemic began with 5,000 new cases, with the total in the Commonwealth up to 66,939, and the positivity rate was 4.41 percent. The governor says it is past time for everyone to be wearing a mask while in public, to help protect those around you.
Secretary for the Cabinet of Health and Family Services Eric Frielander says approximately 1.6 million people newly signed up for Medicaid and other benefits. He urges those in need to sign up for P-EBT, which helps families of school aged children, and SNAP, to make sure no one goes hungry in the midst of a pandemic.
Governor Beshear says the data seems to show that the U.S. is approaching a second escalation of the virus, and Kentucky could be approaching a third.
The latest White House report lists Muhlenberg and Logan County in the ‘orange’ category—the level below red—and Christian, Trigg and Caldwell Counties are now in the ‘yellow’ zone. Five more Kentuckians have died, bringing the death toll to 1,162.
Tennessee gained 737 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 new deaths, according to the Tennessee Department of Health—Montgomery County added 12 new cases, Robertson County saw six and Stewart County reported five new cases.