WFPL News reporters will be updating this story whenever we have new information about the coronavirus in Kentucky and Indiana. Scroll down for older information.
Here’s what you need to know right now:
- In Kentucky, eight people have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Gov. Andy Beshear. In his Wednesday morning briefing, he said all eight patients are doing well and four are isolated and recovering at home. The other four are hospitalized. The patients live in Jefferson, Fayette and Harrison counties. There are five cases in Harrison County, with two in Fayette County and one in Jefferson County. At least one of the cases is linked to travel, but there’s also evidence COVID-19 is spreading through the community.
- There are ten confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indiana. Several are near Indianapolis — in Boone, Hendricks, Johnson and Marion counties. The others are in Noble, Howard and Adams counties.
- Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 647 cases have been detected in the U.S. in 36 states. Twenty-five people have died from COVID-19.
- If you live in Kentucky and believe you have been exposed to COVID-19, call the Kentucky COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-722-5725. In Indiana, call the ISDH Epidemiology Resource Center at 317-233-7125.
Find all of our coverage here.
Wednesday, March 11
11:53 a.m.: A second attendee of a Louisville conference has been diagnosed with coronavirus. Rev. Dr. Robert Pace, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Fort Worth, Texas, has tested positive and is hospitalized in isolation, according to the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. Pace attended the Conference of Endowed Episcopal Parishes (CEEP) Network conference at the Omni Louisville Hotel in late February. On Monday, DC Health issued a statement saying thatRector Rev. Tim Cole, the first confirmed coronavirus case in Washington, D.C., had been asymptomatic at the conference and posed no risk to conference attendees. – Eleanor Klibanoff
11:10 a.m.: Indiana’s number of reported cases of COVID-19 is up to 10.
11:00 a.m.: Derby is big business for Louisville. Louisville Tourism projects the economic impact in the region of this year’s Derby and Oaks will be more than $394 million, and expects the events to draw more than 256,000 attendees. The agency believes Thunder will have an additional value of more than $16 million and attract 725,000 attendees. So….what would the impact be if Derby is cancelled? What about if it goes on, and nobody shows up?
9:19 a.m. As of Wednesday morning there are no new cases of COVID-19 from the coronavirus in Kentucky. The number of cases remains at eight, according to Gov. Andy Beshear. In his morning briefing, Beshear said 54 tests have been administered, 46 have returned negative for the virus, with eight being positive.
He announced new steps to contain the spread of the virus, saying that it’s clear the virus has been community spread. Beshear announced that the state is temporarily canceling visitation at state prisons and facilities.
The governor also recommended that all places of worship cancel services this week.
He and his staff continued to stress maintaining proper hygiene. The most strenuous recommendation from the governor? Do not go on cruises. – Mike Edgerly
Tuesday, March 10
5:00 p.m. Gov. Andy Beshear says there are now eight positive cases of COVID-19 from the coronavirus. The additional two cases are in Harrison County and are connected, according to the governor. Apart from Harrison County, two of the cases are in Fayette County and one in Jefferson County. – Mike Edgerly
4:06 p.m.: Indiana University is suspending classroom teaching for the two weeks following the school’s spring break, which starts next week. In a letter sent today, President Michael A. McRobbie said students would be able to continue work virtually whenever possible.
“The steps that we are taking are necessary to help ensure the continuing good health of our community,” he wrote. “On behalf of Indiana University, I am grateful to all of you in advance for your patience, support and dedication as we work together to energetically address the problems associated with COVID-19.”
The school also launched a website with daily updates on the situation.
3:00 p.m.: The Louisville jail will move to limit visits to video conferences. At a briefing Tuesday, Mayor Greg Fischer said he anticipated visits would be restricted, similar to how nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are preventing visitors. “I’m not sure if that’s in place at this moment. But naturally, we’re going to try that same type of precaution (at Metro Corrections),” he said.
The Corrections website says, “Visitation is conducted by video conferencing.” It is not clear when this change went into effect.
Fischer’s spokeswoman Jean Fischer said in an email, “DOC visitation is always non-contact, so there is no interruption at this time.” – Amina Elahi
2:26 p.m.: Baptist Health is putting new visitor rules in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus. At its hospitals in Louisville, La Grange and New Albany patients in Intensive Care Units, Telemetry and Medical-Surgery units will only be allowed two visitors at a time from immediate family. Guides for visitors to maternity and NICU are available from each hospital.
In a release sent out on Tuesday, Baptist Health stressed that anyone with fever, runny nose, body aches or respiratory symptoms should not visit.
Baptist Health is allowing clergy for palliative, emergent and hospice care along with immediate family. – Mike Edgerly
2:00 p.m.: In a briefing Tuesday, Louisville officials offered additional limited details about the Jefferson County patient diagnosed with COVID-19. In his daily press briefing, Mayor Greg Fischer said the patient is a 69-year-old man. “He’s a traveler and what we mean by that is this is a person that’s been moving around the country, maybe outside of the country as well, as opposed to just community-spread,” Fischer said, referring to how the man may have contracted the virus.
Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, confirmed the patient flew into Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport and said airport employees and tenants were informed that the patient passed through there and presented a low risk. She said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is responsible for informing anyone on the flight who may have been in close contact with the patient.
Moyer said her department was aware of all the people the patient came into contact with after arriving in Louisville and before going to the hospital, and that they had followed up with those people. She did not provide more details, except to say there were no places for the public to avoid tied to this particular case. – Amina Elahi
1:30 p.m.: A Kentucky jail has been placed on lockdown after several inmates became sick.
Bullitt County Detention Center Chief Deputy Carl Reesor told WDRB-TV that six inmates have a high fever and several others are exhibiting flu-like symptoms. He said the lockdown began Tuesday morning and no one is being allowed in or out of the facility.
Reesor says nurses are administering tests to identify the illness. According to the jail’s website, there were about 300 inmates housed in the facility Tuesday. Calls to the jail by The Associated Press and WFPL News were not answered. – The Associated Press
1:00 p.m.: Berea College, a private liberal arts institution in Madison County, announced on Tuesday that it would cancel classes for the rest of the semester due to worries about its ability to respond to the coronavirus.
In a statement, Berea President Lyle Roelofs said the college would not be able to assure “student and employee safety in the circumstance of a case of COVID-19 occurring on campus.”
Classes will be canceled at the end of the day on Friday and students have been asked to move out by Saturday, though accommodations can be provided to students experiencing hardships. – Ryland Barton
11:00 a.m.: The Washington, D.C. pastor who was diagnosed with coronavirus weeks after attending a conference in Louisville was “asymptomatic” while at the conference, DC Health said Monday.
“There is no identified risk of exposure to CEEP conference attendees as a result of contact with this case,” DC Health said in a statement. – Eleanor Klibanoff
10:00 a.m. In his morning briefing, Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters that he expects testing to ramp up in the coming days, and the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state to increase. Cabinet officials announced new guidance to prevent the spread of the virus in nursing homes and long-term care facilities in the state—restricting visitors to long-term care facilities.
The restrictions are mandatory for state-run facilities, but the governor strongly recommended that all long-term care facilities and nursing homes restrict access to visitors to limit the spread of COVID-19. – Ryan Van Velzer
6:00 a.m.: In Kentucky, nursing homes and their residents are especially vulnerable to the new coronavirus. Federal data show that infection control has been a problem at nursing homes across Kentucky, and facilities are already running low on protective gear and qualified staff.
Monday, March 9
State officials warn there are signs coronavirus is spreading in the community, but too early to predict how far it will spread. Gov. Andy Beshear issues an executive order to waive virus testing fees for those who are state employees or have private health insurance; this is expected to affect 460,000 Kentuckians. There are two more confirmed cases of COVID-19, both in Harrison County, bringing the state total to six.
Sunday, March 8
Gov. Andy Beshear confirms three more confirmed cases of coronavirus in Kentucky, bringing the state total to four. Patients are in Jefferson, Fayette and Harrison counties, and all are being treated in isolation. State officials haven’t released any information on how individuals contracted the virus.
In Washington D.C., a pastor gets sick after returning from a conference in Louisville in late February.
Saturday, March 7
The state’s first patient is a Harrison County resident, in treatment at UK Chandler Hospital. Harrison County schools will be closed at least part of next week; Gov. Andy Beshear recommends nursing homes close to visitors for the next week.
Nationwide, there are more than 300 confirmed coronavirus cases. Nineteen have died, with 14 associated with a nursing home near Seattle.
Friday, March 6
Kentucky has its first confirmed case of COVID-19 from coronavirus. The patient is in isolation in the hospital in Lexington, being treated. Of 10 people tested, this was the state’s first positive test. Indiana also confirms its first case of the virus.
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