FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019.
“The health and the lives of people around you, our economy and how fast we can build it back, and our ability to get our kids in school depend on you. Let’s beat COVID-19,” said Gov. Beshear.
Case Information
As of 4 p.m. July 31, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 30,151 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 778 of which were newly reported Friday. Twenty-three of the newly reported cases were from children ages 5 and younger.
“Our positivity rate has decreased for the third straight day. But, we still have too many cases and we need to do everything we can to try to decrease those. We’re also seeing an increase of patients in the ICU,” said Gov. Beshear.
Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported four new deaths Friday, raising the total to 735 Kentuckians lost to the virus.
The deaths reported Friday include a 75-year-old man from Fayette County; an 86-year-old woman from Jefferson County; a 63-year-old man from Perry County; and an 80-year-old woman from Taylor County.
“Sadly, we are also reporting four new deaths,” said Gov. Beshear. “Kentucky, we know what it takes. Let’s mask up.”
As of Friday, there have been at least 629,706 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 5.43%. At least 7,481 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.
Contact Tracing Update
Yesterday, Mark Carter, executive policy advisor at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, updated Kentuckians on contact tracing and tracking across the commonwealth, an effort that Carter leads. To learn more, read yesterday’s full release.
COVID-19 Long-Term Side Effects Update
Yesterday, Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health, provided an update on the known long-term side effects of COVID-19. To learn more, read yesterday’s full release.
More Information
Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Kentuckians can also access translated COVID-19 information and daily summaries of the Governor’s news conference at teamkentuckytranslations.com.