A daily record of nearly 1,000 coronavirus cases was reported Sunday in Kentucky, a spike that Gov Andy Beshear said should be a ‘wake-up call’ for the state’s citizens to abide by mask and social distancing restrictions.
The Democratic governor announced in a news release that there were 979 new cases reported Sunday, including 30 involving children five years old or younger.
‘I have faith and I have trust in the people of Kentucky,’ Beshear said in a news release.
‘But today and in the days ahead we’ve got to do a whole lot better. We’re going to have to take some more action.’
A daily record of nearly 1,000 coronavirus cases was reported Sunday in Kentucky, a spike that Gov Andy Beshear said should be a ‘wake-up call’ for the state’s citizens to abide by mask and social distancing restrictions
The Democratic governor announced in a news release that there were 979 new cases reported Sunday, including 30 involving children five years old or younger. A young man gets his temperature checked in Louisville
During a press conference on Monday, Beshear reported an additional 258 new cases, a number he said will likely climb throughout the week.
Beshear said there are at least 23,414 coronavirus cases in Kentucky as of 4pm Monday afternoon.
The governor said one additional death was reported, raising the total to 671 Kentuckians lost to the virus.
Beshear announced a travel advisory for the state on Monday. He said residents of the state should think twice before visiting like Florida, Arizona, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Idaho, Texas, Mississippi and Nevada.
The governor also encouraged residents to restrict gatherings to 10 people or less.
Beshear said with the state’s current trajectory, ‘we might need field hospitals’.
But, the governor said, ‘we are still in a good position’ with space in our hospitals.
Dr Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department of Public Health, urged Kentuckians to wear masks and socially distance and said the state ‘has flattened the curve before and it must act immediately and decisively to flatten it again’.
During a press conference on Monday, Beshear reported an additional 258 new cases, a number he said will likely climb throughout the week. Beshear said there are at least 23,414 coronavirus cases (23,161 cases depicted in Sunday’s chart) in Kentucky as of 4pm Monday
There are more than 3.7 million coronavirus cases in the US with at least 140,563 deaths
Also on Sunday, a Kentucky lawmaker who heads a key education committee said he has been released from quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus.
In a Twitter post, Republican state Sen Max Wise said he was notified by the Lake Cumberland District Health Department that he met the criteria to be released.
‘I am fortunate only to have experienced mild symptoms throughout my diagnosis,’ he said.
‘I do not take this for granted, as I know there are so many others who have not been as fortunate.’
Wise announced last week that he had gotten tested after experiencing ‘very mild symptoms’.
Metrics for the US have grown worse including a rising number of cases, deaths and hospitalizations along with rates of positive test results.
The virus has killed 140,000 people in the US and infected some 3.7 million, both figures leading the world.
Florida is one of at least 14 states that have reported record hospitalizations so far in July. Other states include, Alabama, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada and Texas.
In California, the city of Los Angeles is on the brink of issuing a new stay-at-home.