FRANKFORT, Ky. — After announcing Sunday that he and his family are quarantining after coming in close contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus, Gov. Andy Beshear said he and his family are in good spirits and have not shown any virus symptoms.
“We’re doing great. I feel great, my family feels great. We are trying to be really positive about the situation,” Beshear said at his remote briefing Monday.
Beshear said a security detail who drove the family Saturday afternoon got a positive test back late Saturday night. The governor said the security detail was the last person his family came in contact with before the start of their quarantine.
Beshear, who was tested last Thursday and is slated to get another test Tuesday, said no one in his family has tested positive for the virus. The security detail has "minor symptoms" and is expected to make a full recovery, Beshear said.
COVID-19 in Kentucky
Beshear reported 643 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the largest number of cases seen on a Monday since the pandemic. Monday case numbers are typically lower than other days of the week due to lab reporting schedules. The governor also reported three coronavirus-related deaths Monday.
Kentucky has seen at least 80,930 total cases of COVID-19 and 1,253 total deaths, and Kentucky's coronavirus positivity rate had risen slightly to 4.37% on Monday.
Dr. Steven Stack said he remains concerned that the steady rise in cases would lead to a substantial increase in hospitalizations in Kentucky.
“Our case levels remain high," Stack said at the remote briefing. "I remain concerned that we are still in an escalating situation. This is concerning because our level is at about 200 cases per million per day, which is substantially elevated."
Aside from hospitalizations, Stack also expressed concerns about symptoms that linger in people who have recovered from coronavirus, including fatigue, shortness of breath, "brain fog" and others.
"This is not the time to be dismissive about this disease or to be cavalier about it; it's the time to double on our efforts and really make sure we minimize how much disease is in the community and how much spreads," he said.
So far, more than 13,113 people who had the virus have reportedly recovered from COVID-19, and the state has now administered nearly 1.6 million coronavirus tests since the pandemic began.
NKY Health reported that 4,927 people across Boone, Kenton, Campbell and Grant counties have tested positive for COVID-19, and 96 people have reportedly died of the virus. The health department reports 914 active cases and 3,917 people who have recovered from coronavirus as of Monday.
Find free COVID-19 testing in NKY
In Northern Kentucky, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Covington's Gravity Diagnostics offer free, appointment-only drive-thru testing at 25 Atlantic Ave in Erlanger, the former Toyota HQ building off Mineola Pike.
The site is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. You will be able to collect your own sample without leaving your vehicle and receive results within three to five days.
Additionally, appointment-only drive-up testing is available through St. E at 7200 Alexandria Pike, Alexandria. The free testing site is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Schedule an appointment at those sites online atwww.stelizabeth.com/covid-testing. To find all coronavirus testing locations near you,click here.
Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:
