COVID deaths top 1,000 in state, flags to fly at half staff

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – Kentucky crossed a grim coronavirus milestone Wednesday as 16 deaths pushed the total residents lost to COVID-related causes to 1,004 since the first case was diagnosed March 6.

The number prompted a somber daily briefing from Gov. Andy Beshear, who ordered flags on state buildings flown at half staff for the next week.

The deaths include a 62-year-old man from Bell County; two men, ages 61 and 77, from Bullitt County; a 92-year-old woman from Calloway County; a 94-year-old woman from Fayette County; a 76-year-old man from Garrard County; four men, ages 50, 66, 79 and 86, and a 70-year-old woman from Jefferson County; a 71-year-old man from Lincoln County; a 90-year-old man from Owen County; an 84-year-old woman from Rowan County; and two men, ages 81 and 87, from Scott County.

The Kentucky State Police Honor Guard will conduct a wreath-laying Thursday morning ad Beshear will address the state on where the state has been, its accomplishments and its shortcomings in a 15-minute address at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

“We’ll spend about 15 minutes talking over this loss, our fight to date and how we must do at least a little bit better to make sure we come out of this crisis with as many of our family members with us as possible, that we come out in a way where we can be proud of what we have done and how we have faced this very difficult disease,” the governor said.

“I am ordering that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff for one week beginning tomorrow,” said Beshear. “Families across Kentucky are hurting as a result of the tragic losses brought by this pandemic. We are lighting our homes and businesses green and ringing our bells daily for these victims, but this is one more way we can show our support for these members of our community as they mourn their loved ones.”

Flags at state office buildings should be lowered to half-staff beginning at sunrise on Thursday, Sept. 10, and remain so until sunset on Wednesday, Sept.16.

Beshear emphasized the most important action to fight the coronavirus is to wear a mask. He pointed to the latest report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which like each of the previous reports, directly states that Kentucky should keep the statewide mask requirement in place.

Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said the death toll should bring home the seriousness of the coronavirus crisis for everyone.

“In the United States of America, in roughly the last six months, more than 190,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. To put that in context, the city of Louisville is about 620,000 or so, so it’s like 30 percent of the city of Louisville has died in the last six months across the country,” Dr. Stack said. “People talk about the numbers, where there are inconsistent or where there are accuracies, but deaths are pretty clear. The implications to the United States of America are pretty substantial and profound. Now in Kentucky, today we crossed over a big milestone, with over 1,000 Kentuckians who’ve lost their lives from the coronavirus. And that’s a tragedy and a tragedy for their families. It’s a smaller tragedy than we might otherwise have had had we not taken the steps over the last six months we would have had larger totals like they’ve had in other states and in other areas. So I’m grateful that we’ve had the opportunity to blunt the harm but the harm that’s happened is substantial nonetheless.”

For 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.

Information about COVID-19 and schools is also being made available. To view the reports, click here for K-12 and here for colleges and universities.

As casualties topped 1,000 Wednesday, Beshear again noted numbers alone do not accurately reflect the depth of losing a family member or friend to the coronavirus. He shared another personal story of a Kentuckian lost in this fight.

“Yesterday, we lost EJ Mike, a 58-year-old front-line worker. He was a physician’s assistant at Louisville VA Medical Center,” the governor said. “But more important, he was a loving father to his twin girls, who are only 13. EJ fought hard for 6 weeks at Norton Brownsboro, during which time he was on a ventilator.”

Beshear said he and his staffers learned of EJ’s loss Tuesday, only an hour after he had passed.

“We spoke to a friend and read online messages from co-workers and loved ones who called EJ an inspiration and an amazing person who always put others before himself,” the Governor said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his two daughters, his family, friends and the community he built at the Louisville VA.”

The governor reported 667 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, pushing the total to 53,977.

Of the new cases Wednesday, 88 were from children ages 18 and younger, of which 16 were children ages 5 and under. The youngest was only 2 months old.

On the good news side, the state’s positivity rate was 3.84 percent, down slightly from Tuesday and marking the second straight day below 4 percent. However, Beshear warned health experts expect it to creep back above 4 percent later in the week.

And the biggest increases are in the region with 43 cases in Fayette County, 26 in Laurel, 23 in Madison, 16 in Scott and 10 in Shelby.

On the weekly report put out by the White House looking at states and their progress fighting the spread of the coronavirus, the state has 23 counties in the ‘red’ category with a positivity rate above 10 percent and 40 in ‘yellow,’ including many in the region, with rates between 5 ad 10 percent.

“Having 1,000 people die to this disease ought to be a kick in our butt, maybe the gut,” Beshear said.

When asked by a report what he expected his thoughts to be six months from now, Beshear offered a sometimes emotional response. But he most noted, “I hope we have learned to respect this virus.”