COVID-19

We’ll continue to update this post as we learn new information.

There are at least 1,149 cases throughout Kentucky as of Tuesday afternoon. Sixty-five people have died in the state as a result of the coronavirus.

In Indiana, there are 5,943 cases as of Wednesday. The number of deaths in the state is 203. 

In Tennessee there are 4,362 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday,  and 79 people have died as a result of the virus.

Wednesday, April 8

Tennessee Reports Seven COVID-19 Deaths

Tennessee is reporting 224 new cases of coronavirus Wednesday and 7 additional deaths. The state now has 4,362 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 79 deaths from the virus. Nearly 600 Tennessee residents have recovered from coronavirus.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says his administration is doing everything it can to prepare hospitals to be inundated with cases of COVID-19, but nearly every time the state has placed an order for medical protective gear, the federal government has prevented its transfer.

Kentucky is scaling up the number of hospital beds, enlisting state manufacturers to make protective equipment and doing its best to acquire supplies for medical workers amid a critical shortage.

State officials have also requested additional gloves, masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) from the Strategic National Stockpile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and through private contracts.

Non-essential businesses across the state have been ordered to close as part of Gov. Bill Lee’s latest executive order.

Lee says this will strengthen the recommended social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus. But the governor stopped short of requiring people to stay at home.

“This is not a mandate for people to shelter in place,” Lee told reporters in a videoconference Monday. “This is an urging for citizens to not utilize non-essential businesses.”

A new order by Gov. Andy Beshear forbids Kentuckians from leaving the state, in order to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

At the governor’s daily press briefing on Monday, Chief of Staff La Tasha Buckner said the new rule would permit residents to leave Kentucky only for work, necessary supplies, to see a doctor or take care of a family member, or if travel is required by a court. Beshear said law enforcement or county judges could enforce the order, but its effectiveness relies on Kentuckians.

“The reality is, the only way that we’re going to get people doing the right thing is because they agree to — is because they see it as their duty, and they know that their actions can harm other people,” Beshear said. “The moment that you go across the border […] and you have that extra contact, you can bring it back to a person in your family that’s working in a nursing home.”

Kentucky will receive about $1.7 billion from from the federal government as part of the coronavirus relief bill signed into law on Friday, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

State government will receive about $1.6 billion and Louisville will receive an additional $134 million under a provision that gives extra funding to cities with populations over 500,000. It’s the only city in the state big enough to qualify.

The money is intended to relieve immediate budget problems state and local governments face as they respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Kentucky had 394 confirmed coronavirus cases, and nine deaths associated with the disease, as of Saturday evening.

Gov. Andy Beshear says there were 45 new cases of coronavirus in Kentucky, bringing the state’s total to 439.

During an evening update Sunday, Beshear reported no new deaths associated with the disease, which has killed nine in Kentucky so far. The daily increase of cases is less than half of the increase reported yesterday — which was the largest to date at 92 — but Beshear said that the state and country are escalating right now.

“It’s going to continue. There are going to be days where we have more positive tests than we did yesterday, when we had ninety-something,” Beshear said.

Federal guidelines have so far prioritized the sick, the vulnerable and health care workers for coronavirus testing. That’s vital for directing care and resources right now, but as the pandemic continues and testing capacity grows, practices will need to change if we want to understand how far this virus has spread.

If we only test targeted populations, then we skew the data set and ultimately, our understanding. That’s why Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar, professor of medicine at University of Louisville, says the city should consider randomized testing. And the city of Louisville may give it a try.