Gov. Andy Beshear on Sunday updated Kentuckians on the commonwealth’s ongoing fight against the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).
“I want you to know that the White House and Kentucky state government are in complete agreement that the escalation of cases is going to require us to take some new steps,” said Gov. Beshear. “We’re going to announce those steps tomorrow and we’ll talk through the what and the why behind each one.”
Case Information
As of 3 p.m. July 26, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 27,079 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 316 of which were newly reported Sunday. Eight new cases were from children ages 5 and younger.
“Kentucky is in that spot now where if we don’t act, we will look a lot like states in the South that are facing devastating consequences,” said Gov. Beshear. “Thankfully today’s numbers are lower than what we’ve seen recently, but we know less testing comes in on Sundays.”
Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported four new deaths Sunday, raising the total to 700 Kentuckians lost to the virus.
The deaths reported Sunday include a 70-year-old woman from Harlan County; a 37-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman from Jefferson County; and a 76-year-old man from Ohio County.
“Last week was a difficult one in the United States and in Kentucky,” said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health. “Nationally, cases surpassed 4.1 million, and in our commonwealth, over 27,000 cases have now been reported. It seems like an eternity since we reported Kentucky’s first positive COVID-19 patient on March 6. Every day is important and the upcoming week will determine which additional measures will be needed to blunt the increase of COVID-19 in our commonwealth. Please avoid crowds, socially distance at least six feet and wear a face covering when in public. Together, Team Kentucky can beat COVID-19.”