FRANKFORT, Ky. — With two days left before some businesses in his state begin to reopen, Gov. Andy Beshear congratulated Kentuckians on keeping COVID-19 numbers low and implored them to continue safe prevention practices even as public life expands once again.
“Because of your work, we have saved countless — I believe thousands of lives already,” he said. “… Let’s be resilient. Let’s not be the generation that got halfway through beating COVID-19 and then decided it was just too hard.”
The state of Kentucky had recorded 3,905 coronavirus diagnoses and 205 total deaths by the time he spoke — far fewer than either nearby Ohio or Indiana, even accounting for Kentucky’s much smaller population.
Monday will bring the first phase of Kentucky’s gradual reopening, which leaves most consumer businesses closed but allows some non-emergency health care services to begin operating while observing social-distancing safeguards.
Every health care office that reopens must screen patients and employees for COVID-19 symptoms, have a stable supply of personal protective equipment and bar patients from receiving most visitors, among other provisions.
