Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday updated Kentuckians on the state’s efforts to fight against COVID-19.
As of 4 p.m. June 8, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 11,476 COVID-19 cases in Kentucky. The Governor provided updated information about coronavirus cases newly confirmed Sunday and Monday in Kentucky.
On Sunday, 70 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed. On Monday, 120 new cases were reported.
The total number of reported deaths attributed to coronavirus stands at 472 Kentuckians.
The death reported Sunday was of a 51-year-old woman from Daviess County. The death reported Monday was a 66-year-old man from Hardin County.
The Governor reminded Kentuckians to light their homes, places of business and places of worship green for compassion.
At least 3,359 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
Gov. Beshear announced the launching of a new effort that aims to provide health care coverage for 100 percent of black and African-American people in the commonwealth.
“This is just the first commitment in making up for the inequality that Dr. King said was one of the most severe: inequality in health care,” said Gov. Beshear. “We’re going to be putting dollars behind it, we’re going to have a multifaceted campaign to do it. It is time, especially during COVID-19.”
Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) Eric Friedlander updated Kentuckians on the fight against the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in skilled nursing facilities.
One hundred twenty-seven out of 285 facilities have at least one COVID-19 positive resident or staff member. And 84.9% of Kentucky’s facilities have already been surveyed for COVID-19, compared to the national average of 54.1%. Kentucky’s resident case rate is 33.8 out of 1,000 compared with the national average of 62. Kentucky’s resident death rate is 11.8 out of 1,000 compared with the national average of 27.6.
Kentucky’s staff case rate is 20.7 out of 1,000 compared with the national average of 39.5. Kentucky’s staff death rate is 0.02 out of 1,000 compared with the national average of 0.05.
Secretary Friedlander also provided an update on food benefits. Specifically, he spoke about the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT).
“The Kentucky Department of Education has been a fantastic partner,” said Secretary Friedlander. “In less than a week, we’ve been able to extend P-EBT to 359,330 kids who already receive other DCBS benefits and to an additional 99,000 kids who did not previously receive other DCBS benefits. Thousands of children are still eligible. Please apply at benefind.ky.gov or for households that don’t speak English or Spanish, call 1-855-306-8959.”
If you have any questions about the coronavirus in Kentucky, call the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-722-5725. You can also find more information, including how to protect you and your family, by visiting Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.