Gov. Andy Beshear has once again extended Kentucky’s mask mandate, renewing the state’s executive order for another 30 days.
“We are experiencing an escalation, our third major escalation in this COVID crisis, and it is significant,” Beshear said during a press briefing yesterday. “Last week we had 6,126 positive cases and we are on pace to have more than that this week.”
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, there were 1,054 newly reported cases of COVID-19 in the state, 144 of which were in children 18 years old and younger. Four new deaths were reported, bringing the total number of lives lost to the coronavirus in Kentucky to 1,218.
“Yesterday I said more cases equal more people we lose. I want to bring that home a little bit,” Beshear said. “In the United States there is a 2.8% mortality rate for people who contract COVID. I’m proud that in Kentucky, we’ve got some great doctors and nurses and health care workers, and we’re at 1.7%, 1.1% less than the national average. But 6,126 cases of COVID-19 with the mortality rate we have would be 104 Kentuckians just from last week’s cases, we will lose. That’s just one week.”
Beshear talked about the importance of wearing cloth face coverings in public and when social distancing isn’t possible and said the extension of the mask mandate shouldn’t come as a surprise.
“We saw with the last escalation that we have the power to stop it if we simply do what we know works and that is wearing a mask and engaging in social distancing,” he said. “If we are honest with ourselves, we know that fewer people are wearing masks right now than they were when we took steps in July on the mask mandate to stop that escalation.”
He also noted that the extension follows this week’s guidance from the White House, which says Kentucky has seen an increase in cases over the last week, putting the state in the “red” zone with the 16th highest infection rate in the county. The White House report says masks will continue to be critical as the weather cools and more activities move indoors, and that “masks must be worn indoors in all public settings and group gathering sizes should be limited.”
In addition to mask use, Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said the public needs to fight against “complacency and exhaustion.”
“We are clearly now in an escalation. There is no doubt about it.” – @StevenStackMD
Listen to the science. Our numbers are rising and we can’t afford to be careless. Wear a mask and social distance. It’s imperative we protect our people. #MaskUpKy pic.twitter.com/zch5VCbLMj
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) October 6, 2020
Beshear has also launched a new contest to inspire Kentuckians to continue to wear their masks. Post encouragement regarding mask use on social media with the #MaskUpKY and #MaskUpKentucky hashtags and you could win a #TeamKY mask. The governor will highlight some posts during his 4 p.m. COVID briefings, and those whose social media posts are showcased will get a mask.
For more information, visit govstatus.egov.com/kycovid19.
This article appears in The Fall Guide.