Governor Andy Beshear confirmed 72 of the 227 new cases of COVID-19 are in Warren County, which now ranks second in the highest number of cases for the commonwealth. Beshear said among the new cases in Warren County are children from one to 12 years old..
Beshear said Kentucky is now having more children tested for the coronavirus now that testing availability has increased.
“Kids are going to need to start getting tested more and more,” he said.
Public health commissioner Steven Stack said Bowling Green has the second highest number of positive cases in the state. He said that number is 708 as of today. He said the city has two hospitals, which will receive student volunteers to aid in relief. He said the state is sending additional testing supplies to the city. He said the Medical Center at Bowling Green received one of the 10 cases of the experimental drug Remdesivir.
Beshear said 377 people with coronavirus statewide are currently hospitalized with 215 in the ICU. He said the new cases announced during the May 13 update bring the total number of confirmed cases to 7,080.
He said the number of new cases are up because a “significant number” of tests came in today. He said the new reports haven’t changed his belief that the coronavirus has plateaued.
Beshear reported five new deaths from the virus, including a 74-year-old female in Marshall County. He said 117,395 people have been tested and 2,649 people have recovered.
Today began phase three of healthcare reopening in the state. Beshear reviewed the top 10 rules to re-opening and said he wanted it to become “muscle memory.”
Stack said phase three allows in-patient surgeries and procedures at 50% of pre-COVID volumes. He said visitor restrictions are still enforced.
Beshear also presented three new graphs on the demographics of coronavirus cases in the state. He said when the percentage of cases (red) passes the percentage of the population (blue), that indicates a disproportionate impact on that population.
Beshear named Cookie Crews the new Kentucky Commissioner of Corrections. He said Crews brings on-the-ground experience in the state. He said one of her most important roles will be protecting the inmates at Green River Correctional Complex from the coronavirus.
Beshear also announced new testing sites opening next week, including a location in Mayfield. He said people can register for the slots, which include 400 at each location on each day of testing. Beshear said he wanted to make sure that western Kentucky has the testing it needs.
He said the state has six more weeks for access to Batelle’s critical care decontamination system to sterilize N-95 masks. Beshear said the state doesn’t currently have many sign-ups for the program.
More information on the coronavirus pandemic in Kentucky can be found here.
