Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has released a timeline for when the state will begin to reopen more of its business sectors. He has already released a four-phase plan for reopening health care, which launched Monday, April 27.
This new plan will reopen more businesses "while continuing to keep Kentuckians safe from the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)," says a release.
This is all predicated upon his "10 rules to reopening," as well as industries following specific state requirements.
The 10 rules to reopening are:
And each business that wants to reopen needs to submit a proposal to be evaluated based on criteria from the White House and the Kentucky Department for Public Health to align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Read more about the proposals at govstatus.egov.com/ky-healthy-at-work.)
“We’ve got to do this right. I believe we can do this right,” said Beshear. “When we phase back in to work, remember, you don’t need an in-person meeting. Use the telephone. And now that we are starting to open up health care, see your doctor if you need to.”
Here are the next reopenings scheduled for Kentucky, blending his previously released health care plan and then new dates:
- May 6 - Outpatient surgeries and invasive procedures can resume, although hospitals and facilities must meet the guidelines outlined at chfs.ky.gov and patients must have COVID-19 pre-procedure testing "per professional association guidelines consistent with Kentucky Department of Public Health guidance."
- May 11 - Manufacturing, construction, vehicle and vessel dealerships, professional services (at 50 percent of pre-outbreak capacity), horse racing (without spectators), pet grooming and boarding; Beshear said Churchill Downs will begin accepting horses and people on the backside of the track starting this date
- May 13 - Hospitals and care facilities are allowed to do non-emergency surgeries and procedures at 50 percent of their "pre-COVID-19-era patient volume."
- May 20 - Retail, houses of worship
- May 25 - Social gatherings of no more than 10 people, barbers, salons, cosmetology businesses and similar services
- May 27 - The governor says at this point, for health care, "most of the restrictions on types of procedures and volume will be left to the facilities to determine. However, oversight and guidelines meant to ensure that capacity remains in the system will continue."
All of these dates will be contingent on continued social distancing, sanitization and cleaning. If there are any outbreaks or spikes in COVID-19 infections, these openings will need to be walked back.
“A crowd is still going to be a dangerous thing until we are further along in defeating this virus," Beshear said. “It’s something we need to continue to avoid.”
He also listed businesses that will not yet reopen:
- Restaurants
- Gyms
- Movie theaters
- Campgrounds
- Youth sports
- Summer camps
- Day cares (except for essential health care workers)
- Public pools
“Another that we want to be in Phase 2 is gyms. Later, but not in Phase 1: movie theaters, campgrounds and youth sports. We hope in this summer, and we don’t know if it will be in June or perhaps early July, we hope that we will be able to do some youth sports,” he said.
