COVID-19

Warren County Public schools will continue with a hybrid schedule of classes through the end of the calendar year. 

The decision is based, in part, on the state’s new system that tracks the number of coronavirus cases in K-12 schools. 

Under the state’s new metric for reopening schools to in-person classes, Warren County is in the Red category, meaning a daily rate of 25 individuals per 100,000 have a confirmed case of COVID-19. 

Gov. Andy Beshear is recommending any county in the Red category postpone all in-person learning until it reaches Yellow status, meaning less than ten confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 individuals. 

The deadline to fill out the 2020 U.S. Census form is Sept. 30. That means counties like Warren are stepping up their door-to-door efforts to count every resident.

In the spring, the bureau started sending out surveys through the mail. As of Monday, 67.6% of Kentucky households had completed the census form on their own.

In Warren County, that estimated number is only 66.4% of estimated households. It's a number the Bowling Green-Warren County Complete Count Committee would like to see move higher.

The KyCOVID-19 website now includes a “K-12 Public Health Report” that lists schools across the state and the number of cases of the virus reported among students and staff. 

The"K-12 Public Health Report" is divided into two sections. The first is the number of cases in each of 99 school districts. 

The latest numbers show that Barren County Schools have had a total of 12 students and 2 staff with confirmed cases of COVID-19. 

Bowling Green Independent Schools have had 11 cases among students and 2 among staff. 

As colleges across Kentucky and the nation are back underway with in-person classes, students, parents and employees have multiple ways to get updates on COVID-19 cases on campus.

Technology has encouraged transparency in the time of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health online dashboard lists COVID-19 cases at colleges and universities across the state. The cases listed as of Aug. 27 include 550 students and 42 staff. 

Western Kentucky University reported 86 new cases in its weekly update posted Aug. 28 on its online dashboard. The total number of cases at the university since July 1 is 299, including students, faculty, staff and on-campus contractors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically reduced the number of visitors to popular tourism destinations in Kentucky, and across the nation. Since the shutdown of most Kentucky businesses and cultural sites in mid-March, and the gradual reopening, museums are among those that have been hit the hardest.  

In the first of a two-part series, WKU Public Radio reporter Rhonda Miller talked with Frank Bennett,  CEO of The National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, about how museums are maintaining a presence during this time of limited tourism.

Bennett is also a consultant to other museums, and has a blog called worldclassmuseum.com

During the conversation, Bennett said the museum follows all the safety guidelines required during the pandemic. He added that Kentucky’s statewide mandate to wear masks has made it easier to keep visitors safe when they come to the National Quilt Museum.

As Kentucky busiesses and schools reopen, with strict health guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a recent graduate of Western Kentucky University said she knows from personal experience that young people are not immune to the coronavirus. 

MacKenzie Kristufek turned around on her way to her temporary job at the end of March because she didn’t feel well. The symptoms of COVID-19 worsened as the day went on with a sore throat, back pain, fever, a headache and difficulty breathing. 

She tested positive for COVID-19 and went into a two-week quarantine. Her boyfriend’s parents helped her get through it. 

The Robley Rex VA Medical Center in Louisville provides specialty geriatric care for military veterans 65 and older.

WKU Public Radio reporter Rhonda Miller talked with Director of Inpatient Geriatrics, Dr. Belinda Setters, who says the VA hospital has increased efforts to keep patients active and connected and avoid the negative impacts of isolation, while most visiting is suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Setters:

So, we take care of the frailest, the oldest folks when they're hospitalized. We actually see patients on all different units, including in the ICU, including in the COVID unit, you know, working in different ways to try to keep the patients engaged and as active as we can, which has been problematic with COVID. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread anxiety about what used to be common daily activities, like going to the grocery store and getting a haircut.

Now, Bowling Green area residents are using social media to share information about businesses that are using safety precautions, and others that are not following guidelines for masks or social distancing.

The public Facebook group is called 'Safe Places to Patronize in Bowling Green, KY.'

Retired engineer Tom Morris, who created the group,  said it’s grown to more than 2,500 members in two months.

“Actually, it kind of started on a whim," said Morris. "Somebody had posted something about, you know, it would be nice to know where we can go that’s safe. And I said, ‘Well somebody ought to start a Facebook group about safe places to patronize, you know.’ And I said, ‘Well, heck, I’ll start it'."

Businesses in Kentucky and throughout the country continue to walk a fine line when it comes to welcoming customers, while also enforcing state and local coronavirus guidelines such as the wearing of face masks.

New restrictions and requirements at the Community Farmers Market in Bowling Green so far haven’t hurt direct-to-consumer sales. On a recent weekday, vendors could be seen from the road wearing masks and talking to customers about their fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Many of the stands would normally be inside, but because of the pandemic, tents have been set up outside to spread people around and encourage social distancing. Nathan Howell is a co-founder of the Bowling Green Community Farmer’s Market and a vendor with Need More Acres farm in Scottsville.  

Visiting at nursing homes across Kentucky began July 15, after in-person visits were suspended for several months to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Residents had been keeping in touch with family and friends through social media and by peering through windows. 

Now, visits to skilled nursing facilities have restarted, with many state required health precautions in place, including social distancing and the wearing of masks. 

Restrictions were eased on other types of long-term care facilities, including assisted living and personal care homes, on June 29.