FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday that Kentucky businesses, venues and events can return to full capacity starting June 11.
The state's mask mandate will also be lifted on that day, except in "places where people are most vulnerable," Beshear said. Those restrictions will lift in exactly one month to give children ages 12 to 15 the chance to get the recently authorized Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Before that on May 28, businesses and venues can increase capacity to 75%, and that also applies to all events regardless of the number of attendees. Kentucky's midnight last call for bars and restaurants will end that day.
So far, Kentucky has vaccinated nearly 1.9 million people against COVID-19, or about 43% of the state's population.
Starting now, Kentucky's mask mandate is also changing following new CDC guidance Thursday. Fully vaccinated people can now go maskless in most indoor settings without large crowds, but masks are still required in hospitals and nursing homes. Kentucky's mandate, which requires masks in all public settings, will immediately change to fit the new guidance, Beshear said in a video update Thursday.
Since March 2020, 451,213 Kentuckians have tested positive for COVID-19 and 6,637 have died of the virus. Currently, 411 Kentuckians are hospitalized for COVID-19, with 117 people in intensive care units and 47 on ventilators.
The state's test positivity rate, one of the key indicators of virus spread, is 3.08%.
NKY Health reports 399 active coronavirus cases in Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties, and 41,635 people have recovered from the virus Friday. Since the pandemic began, 455 Northern Kentuckians have died from the virus. Track the spread on Kentucky's COVID-19 incidence rate map.
Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:
