Governor Beshear says Kentuckians worked twice to stop an escalation of coronavirus cases. During his briefing Thursday, the governor said it can be done a third time. The Commonwealth is seeing some of its highest daily case numbers this week.
Beshear said additional measures may need to be taken to address a surge in cases. “We are not just planning for how to deal with the surge that’s going on, but we’re going to be looking for additional recommendations that we can make to communities. We’re going to be talking to the hospital systems that are out there about helping to get the word out,” said Beshear.
Beshear reported 1330 new COVID-19 cases and 17 additional deaths. The state’s positivity rate is now at 5.3%. The governor said it’s important for families to start planning for how they will participate safely in any trick or treat activities next weekend.
Governor Beshear remains convinced that wide scale use of facial coverings in public can work to stop the current surge in coronavirus cases. The governor was asked about reports of strict shutdowns and targeted strategic contact tracing in China. Beshear said something like that is not needed to bring well over a thousand daily cases of coronavirus down to a lower level. “We all believe that if 90% of people would wear masks when they need to, we’d get this thing under control. That, social distancing, following the top ten rules, it’s right there. It is right there,” explained Beshear.
The governor reiterated that working with a 20 year old computer system has created major challenges in addressing unemployment claims. Beshear said $4 million worth of computer upgrades is helping.?
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