As of 4 p.m. July 7, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 17,519 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 371 of which were newly reported Tuesday.

“Today is a tough day in our fight against the coronavirus. While we’ve long noted that case numbers fluctuate due to differences in reporting – and that weekends often see lower tallies that sometimes catch up during the week – today’s numbers are cause for serious concern,” the Governor said. “We have worked too long and hard, and sacrificed too much, to squander the gains we have made in this fight. However, the only way to secure our safety is to recommit ourselves to doing what we all know is required of us: washing our hands frequently, staying at least six feet from others, avoiding crowds, getting tested frequently and cooperating with contact tracers if they call with information.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported nine new deaths Tuesday, raising the total to 602 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Tuesday include a 78-year-old man from Jefferson County; a 52-year-old man from Kenton County; two women, ages 86 and 96, and two men, ages 85 and 95, from Knox County; a 70-year-old woman from Logan County; a 64-year-old woman from Mason County; and a 62-year-old man from Monroe County.

“There’s nothing more important to me than protecting the lives of Kentuckians and there’s nothing more difficult in this job than knowing that despite every effort we still have lost more than 600 of our fellow citizens to this deadly virus,” the Governor said. “Let’s light up our homes and businesses green to show our compassion for these folks, their families and their communities.”

As of Tuesday, there have been at least 445,196 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. At least 4,841 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

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.

Vowing to protect Kentuckians from unfairly being overcharged for goods or services during the pandemic, Gov. Beshear again has extended his executive order prohibiting price gouging. Anyone with information about unfair sales or billing practices is encouraged to contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection hotline at 888-432-9257 or fill out the complaint form online.