Gov. Beshear Provides Update on COVID-19

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 9, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

“We continue to be in another escalation of COVID-19 cases here in Kentucky,” said Gov. Beshear. “This is the highest Friday in the last four weeks, and this will be our highest week ever when we finish it for number of new COVID-19 cases.”

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. Oct. 9, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 78,456 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 1,059 of which were newly reported Friday. One hundred and fourteen of the newly reported cases were from children up to age 18, of which 23 were children 5 and under. The youngest was only 2 months old.

“These are just far too many cases. We have to do better. Folks, we really need you to wear your mask,” said Gov. Beshear. “We’ve talked a lot about enforcement this week, but the best enforcement is you, making sure that you and your family are wearing them every time you go out. If everybody takes on that enforcement, we will stop this third escalation.”

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported eight new deaths Friday, raising the total to 1,242 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Friday include a 90-year-old woman from Boyd County; a 73-year-old woman from Daviess County; a 76-year-old man from Harrison County; two women, ages 70 and 74, from Henderson County; an 87-year-old man from Jefferson County; a 48-year-old woman from Logan County; and a 54-year-old woman from McCracken County.

“We continue to see higher months of cases and higher months of deaths,” said Gov. Beshear. “We need your help. Be a good part of Team Kentucky.”

As of Friday, there have been at least 1,632,824 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate was 4.32%, and at least 13,417 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

For additional 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. To see all recent daily reports, 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.

Week in Review
For more information on this week’s updates, including those on relaunching kynect, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Manufacturing Month, Homeland Security grants, the Stay Close. Go Far. tourism campaign, unemployment insurance, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Coverings for Kids, a grant to child care centers, the Team Kentucky Fund, Recognizing Inspirational School Employees Awards, the Pikeville Medical Center Healthy at School Telehealth Program and the 2020 general election in Kentucky, visit governor.ky.gov/news.

More Information
Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Kentuckians can also access translated COVID-19 information and summaries of the Governor’s news conferences at teamkentuckytranslations.com.