During the May 11 press conference, Governor Andy Beshear announced Kentucky now has at least 50 drive-up COVID-19 testing sites. He said the state now has the testing capacity for everyone who wants a test to be able to get a test.
Beshear said in order to reopen the economy and abide by national standards, Kentucky needs to test at least 2% of the state’s population each month. Kentuckians may sign up for testing at kycovid19.ky.gov.
“Our challenge now is getting you to take the tests,” Beshear said. “We have enough to test 4% to 5% of our population, but you've got to show up. If you're an employer, you need to be encouraging your employees to get tested every so often, that'll help protect you all.”
There is currently a 10-year-old coronavirus patient on a ventilator in the state, according to Beshear. Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Steven Stack said the 10-year-old boy has a new syndrome recognized in young people related to the coronavirus.
“For those of you who are parents, you should still take great comfort that children overall do extraordinarily well with this and don't have serious illnesses. However, there are a small number of children, adolescents, teenagers and younger children who can get a syndrome,” Stack said. “Their immune system apparently becomes overactive. They have an extensive inflammatory response in their body.”
According to Stack, the syndrome can lead to respiratory or gastrointestinal problems. He said there's not much that can be done to prevent this syndrome. Stack recommends maintaining the same social distancing practices in place including ‘healthy at home,’ minimizing social contact, and wearing a mask.
Beshear reported 105 new cases of coronavirus in the state. This brings Kentucky’s total number of cases to 6,677. The state has tested a total of 104,001 individuals. There have been 2,335 confirmed recoveries of coronavirus. There were four new coronavirus-related deaths reported during May 11 update.
Two new cases were confirmed in Calloway County on Monday. The county’s total number of coronavirus cases is up to 39. Thirty-one individuals have fully recovered, five are isolated at home and two patients are hospitalized. There has been one death related to coronavirus in Calloway County.
J. Michael Brown,Secretary of the governor’s Executive Cabinet, reported the coronavirus test results for all 1,081 staff and inmates at the Green River Correctional Complex
He said 50 staff and 350 inmates have tested positive; two staff and two inmates are currently hospitalized. Now that all testing is completed within the correctional facility, Brown said the inmates are sorted into various housing units based on their physical condition and exposure to the coronavirus.
“We're training more staff to assist in the taking of temperatures because we want to do that on a much more frequent basis,” Brown said. “You know, what took place last week and over the weekend was basically everyone in the institution had moved to a new facility, a new world, a new part of the institution. That was completed Saturday. That was a big job. So we're going to be doing more face-to-face.”
Today was the first day some businesses were eligible to reopen under the Healthy at Work guidelines.
“I don't want to be the fastest, I want to be the smartest,” Beshear said. “Our belief is that very specific guidance and requirements creates a level playing field where everybody is treated fairly. But more importantly, everybody knows what it takes to be safe in this environment. Just because we've plateaued doesn't mean the virus has gone away.”
Beshear also reminded business owners and employees of the new normal.
“Just because you are able to open does not mean things can go back to normal. If your business is one where you can telework, you still ought to be doing it,” Beshear said.
Beshear discussed the key concepts of contact tracing, as well.
“Understand in this new world that you may get a call. That's the way it’s gonna work when, say, you've been in contact with someone who has tested positive and you're gonna have to self quarantine for a period of time,” Beshear said. “That's the only way that healthy at work can work with testing and contact tracing.”
Up-to-date information on the coronavirus pandemic in the commonwealth can be found here.
