Madisonville and Hopkins County officials teamed up Friday to offer an update on the local response to the coronavirus pandemic, and share details regarding voting changes for the upcoming primary election.
Deputy Hopkins County Clerk Jenny Menser said the Clerk’s Office is working to provide a variety of voting options for the upcoming June 23 primary election. Registered voters will be able to request a mail-in ballot, vote in-person at the Ballard Convention Center, vote absentee at the county clerk’s office by appointment or vote at a contactless mobile voting truck. The voting truck will be set up at locations throughout the county in the lead-up to the election.
The clerk’s office is also beginning to resume normal, in-person operations. The office will begin a soft opening Monday, May 11, allowing for services to be provided by appointment only.
Hopkins County Health Department Director Denise Beach said testing is still operational in the county, although there likely won’t be another large-scale drive-thru testing site such as the one offered through a partnership with Kroger and Gravity Diagnostics. She said Baptist Health Madisonville will continue to provide COVID-19 testing and antibody testing will ramp up over the coming weeks. Contract tracing will continue to remain important as health department officials work to stop community spread of the coronavirus.
Beach said the number of new cases in Hopkins County continues to decrease, signaling that social distancing policies are succeeding in their goal to “flatten the curve.”
During the May 8 morning update, Beach reported 213 cases of COVID-19 are confirmed in the county, with 127 of those recovered. Twenty-five Hopkins countians have died as a result of the virus with the latest virus-related death reported on the evening of May 7.
Madisonville Mayor Kevin Cotton said the city is postponing its summer concert series until 2021. The set of performances was slated to include country artist Craig Morgan and contemporary Christian artist Zach Williams, among others.
Hopkins County leaders will host another COVID-19 update Monday, May 11. Up-to-date information on the coronavirus pandemic in Kentucky can be found here.
