As of 4 p.m. July 28, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 28,126 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 532 of which were newly reported Tuesday. Twenty-one of the newly reported cases were from children ages 5 and younger, including a 2-month-old girl from Madison County and a 7-month-old boy from Graves County.
“Today’s update gives us hope that we may be seeing a new plateau or stabilization, although it is too early to come to that conclusion,” the Governor said. “It’s also the first time the positivity rate has gone down in four days. My hope is that the facial covering requirement is starting to kick in and help.”
Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported 10 new deaths Tuesday, raising the total to 719 Kentuckians lost to the virus.
The deaths reported Tuesday include a 74-year-old woman from Butler County; an 84-year-old man from Fayette County; two women, ages 86 and 87, and an 82-year-old man from Jefferson County; two women, ages 89 and 101, and an 83-year-old man from Logan County; a 37-year-old man from Lyon County; and a 73-year-old woman from Oldham County.
“Let’s remember, high cases means we lose more Kentuckians,” said Gov. Beshear. “Every time we do something that spreads the virus, we expose more people to that potential outcome.
As of Tuesday, there have been at least 599,251 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 5.08%. At least 7,470 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
Gov. Beshear again warned that without everyone complying with safety requirements – including social distancing, wearing face coverings and avoiding travel to virus hotspots – we risk squandering our hard work and facing the devastation being experienced by some other states.
On Monday, Gov. Beshear announced new actions, conceived through and backed by guidance from the White House, to stem the growing number of coronavirus cases and rising test positivity rate in the commonwealth.
Under a new order from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, bars are closed and restaurants are limited to 25% of pre-pandemic capacity indoors. The Governor and the Kentucky Department for Public Health will monitor case numbers over the next two weeks with the goal of reopening bars and restoring restaurant capacity after that time.
In addition, the Governor is recommending public and private schools to avoid offering in-person instruction until the third week of August.
The new actions followed previous moves by Gov. Beshear’s administration, including a travel advisory that recommends a 14-day self-quarantine for Kentuckians who travel to states and U.S. territories that are reporting a positive coronavirus testing rate equal to or greater than 15%. For an updated list of areas meeting that threshold, click here. In addition, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services issued an order pulling back the guidance on non-commercial gatherings to allow only for meet-ups of 10 or fewer people.
For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.