Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the COVID-19 delta variant is spreading, and that is why he is mandating some people in Kentucky wear masks again.
Officials said Kentucky's COVID-19 positivity rate has increased every day for more than a month, and the rate is almost 10% now. Kentucky also has a relatively low vaccination rate. Only about 45.9% of all Kentuckians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
That is why Beshear is mandating employees in state-run healthcare facilities and veteran care facilities wear masks once more.
Cabinet for Health and Family Services Sec. Eric Friedlander also said they plan on putting new COVID-19 testing guidelines in place at these facilities, too.
"We're going to ask that everyone test at least twice a week to make sure that we are protecting both other staff and residents," Friedlander said. "Now, we're gonna make a little difference if you're vaccinated, which is really what we want you to be. We are going to only test when it's mandated by the CDC guidelines."
Officials are touting the vaccines as the safest way to fight against COVID-19 and the variants, but there is no plan on requiring state workers to get vaccinated at this time.
