FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 29, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Saturday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).
“Unfortunately, today, I’m reporting the fourth-highest number of positives for COVID-19 that we’ve reported since our first case on March 6,” said Gov. Beshear. “Thankfully, our positivity rate is still below five at 4.59%.”
Case Information
As of 4 p.m. Aug. 29, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 47,577 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 825 of which were newly reported Saturday. There were 145 newly reported cases of children age 18 and younger, with 15 being five years old or younger. Two among those age 5 and under were just eight months old.
The Governor implored Kentuckians to “please do your part, live for your fellow human being and understand that we are all connected and that your decisions truly matter.”
Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported three new deaths Saturday, all of whom were from Lincoln County. The total of Kentuckians now lost to the virus is 921.
“That’s one county grieving three losses of its own. That’s three more families who are suffering during this time,” said Gov. Beshear.
The deaths of the Lincoln Countians reported Saturday include an 86-year-old woman and 81-and 94-year-old men.
Even though it’s not for a few more days, “now is the time to consider how you will celebrate Oaks, Derby and Labor Day in a way that allows you to share time with others while respecting the required masking and social distancing protocols,” said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health.
“As you may recall, as the number of new cases was leveling off months ago, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July resulted in celebrations and mingling. A noticeable spike in the number of positive COVID-19 cases followed. Then, the mask mandate went into effect and Kentuckians took extra care in social distancing and avoiding visits to other states known as ‘hot spots.’ This successfully plateaued our new weekly cases,” Dr. Stack said.
He cautioned, “If the running of the Oaks, the Kentucky Derby and Labor Day activities reflect other summer holidays, though, cases will spike again and Kentucky will have a setback to the progress we have made by working together. Please, let’s show we can learn from the other holidays. Let’s not slip and lose progress against our fight against the coronavirus.”
As of Saturday, at least 871,811 tests had been administered. The COVID-19 testing positive rate, based on a seven-day rolling average, taking into account total positive tests reported by laboratories divided by total tests reported by labs, stood at 4.59%. The number of Kentuckians who have recovered stood at 10,328.
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.
Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Kentuckians can also access translated COVID-19 information and daily summaries of the Governor’s news conference at teamkentuckytranslations.com.
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