School, university COVID numbers now online; ‘can’t let out guard down’: Beshear

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – The state’s positivity rate and some other key barometers are down, but state leaders warned Monday they fear the state is on the verge of another period of complacency that could let the coronavirus get out of control again.

Meanwhile, the state is taking steps to try to contain an outbreak at the state’s Veterans Home in Hazard, Gov. Andy Beshear said during his daily briefing Monday.

Nine residents and one staff person at the veterans home have tested positive for the virus. Those nine veterans have been moved to rooms at nearby Appalachian Regional Healthcare hospital.

The veterans home is undergoing a total cleaning, wings are being isolated and staffs assigned to one wing with no cross over. Every staff member and remaining resident also is being tested, the governor said.

Meanwhile, the governor reported 373 new cases, high for a Monday but still within the state’s “plateau” range. Since March, the state has confirmed 43,899 cases.

The positivity rate dropped to 4.77 percent. Other key numbers also fell slightly with 564 people in the hospital, 149 in ICU and 2 on ventilators.

Of the new cases, 93 were in Fayette and 18 were in Madison.

Sixty-eight of the newly reported cases were from children ages 18 and younger, of which 14 were children ages 5 and under. The youngest was only 7 months old.

The governor reported four deaths, bringing the state’s total to 885.

The state now has started including coronavirus cases in school districts and colleges on the www.kycovid19.ky.gov web site, the centralized site for statistics and other information on the coronavirus in the state.

The current numbers showed 31 school districts with at least one case associated with it at some point and 50 active cases. Meanwhile, 224 active cases are at universities with most of those at the University of Kentucky.

Meanwhile 158 day care centers have had at least one case with 128 staff and 99 kids included.

“I fear we are at the moment where we were in early summer when we got complacent, we got tired of being inside, and we stopped, where we are letting our guard down,” Beshear said. “We can’t do that.”

“The normal beginning of a school year has us all feeling the same things: We want to get over this, we want to get our kids out of the house. And I, at least, am seeing a change that goes beyond the ‘When to return to school?’ debate,” Beshear continued. “We’re seeing more people trying to get out of quarantine when the health department has recommended it. Those feelings are natural, but they’re harmful. This is a war. Whether we win or lose depends on the number of battles that we win. Let’s pick it up because lives depend on it.”

The deaths reported Monday include a 74-year-old man from Harlan County; an 82-year-old man and a 94-year-old woman from Jefferson County; and a 71-year-old woman from Marion County.

“We’ve been able to push our mortality rate almost a percentage point lower than the national average,” said Beshear. “But we had more deaths announced last week than in any week where we’ve been battling this virus.”

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.