Governor Beshear is calling upon Kentucky citizens in some 68 coronavirus hot spot counties to be more deliberate in trying to reduce cases in their communities.
During his COVID-19 briefing Thursday, Beshear said he has reason to believe the measures will help to bring down the daily count. “I think when we look at the response in different times, whether it was Florida or Texas when they were surging in a very different way, we see some data that shows it will work and we believe, we know that compliance is our biggest problem right now,” said Beshear.
Residents in more than half of the Commonwealth’s counties are being asked to, among other things, work from home if possible, reduce in-person shopping, and to not host or attend gatherings of any size next week.
State officials are modifying their sorting of unemployment claims while also requesting federal approval for flexibility regarding over-payment notices. Governor Beshear’s general counsel Amy Cubbage explained the changes. She said staff members are now responding to claims based on the date of filing.
Cubbage added State Labor Secretary Larry Roberts has requested the U.S. Department of Labor to allow Kentucky to waive some of the overpayments. “So that is something we are attempting to do for you. We know it is a huge burden on claimants who, in good faith, applied for those benefits and now have been requested to pay that back. But, we are hopeful that we will be allowed some flexibility and we hope to have more news for you on that soon.”
Governor Beshear announced 1,821 new COVID-19 cases Thursday and 19 more deaths. While admitting a great deal of coronavirus spread is occurring within counties, Beshear said hot spots have also developed near boundaries of other states with high COVID levels.?
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