In his evening press conference last night, Governor Andy Beshear announced that there are now 4,146 cases of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. Of these cases, 87 were newly confirmed. It is believed that 1,521 people have recovered from the virus, however there were five new deaths reported on Monday, bringing the state’s total to 213. Doctor Steven Stack talked about further anticipated phases for reopening of various healthcare services. The next phase is expected to begin May 6th. This will allow outpatient surgeries and other invasive procedures to resume, though there will be guidelines to be met. Facilities must have a fourteen-day supply of PPE available at all times, and must maintain a 30% bed capacity in case of a surge. Phase Three is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 13th, and Phase Four is scheduled to begin Wednesday, May 27th. Any COVID-19 resurgence may require adjustment to the phased reopening. Governor Beshear announced that more industry reopening dates would be announced soon. The state is preparing to hire 700 people across the state to help with contact tracing going forward.
Hardin County Schools has made the decision to hold high school graduations next month, albeit in a different way. The district announced yesterday that the three high schools would be holding virtual graduations for the outgoing class of 2020. The district’s television partner HCEC-TV, will edit the ceremonies together to air on their originally scheduled dates. The district does hope to hold a formal graduation sometime into the next school year. Each ceremony will take place outside the respective high schools. Students will be able to bring no more than six guests with them. Details on how the virtual graduations will be conducted can be found on the Hardin County Schools website. In addition, the district will be lighting up their football stadiums from 8- 8:20 PM tonight to honor students, and welcomes residents in the county to light up their homes as well during this time.
West Point Independent Schools will be hosting a virtual meeting tonight, adhering to the Healthy at Home guidelines. Public comments for the meeting can be submitted via the school phone line at 6:00 PM. These comments will be read to the board during the public comments portion. The meeting will be available to view on YouTube.
Local cases of COVID-19 were not as numerous yesterday. The Lincoln Trail District Health Department reported just one additional case in their daily press release yesterday, bringing the district’s total to 94 positive cases. The sole case came out of Meade County, the location of the only COVID-19 related death locally. The health department said that of the 94 cases, 86 are either participating in home isolation or have been released.
