FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear on Sunday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019.
“We remain in a plateau with our number of new cases, which is positive, but we have to see those numbers steadily decline,” Gov. Beshear said. “All of your sacrifices are working, and we must all continue to be patient and do our part to drive those numbers down.”
Case Information
As of 3 p.m. Aug. 23, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 43,529 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 467 of which were newly reported Sunday. Seventy-nine of the newly reported cases were from children ages 18 and younger, of which 15 were children ages 5 and under. The youngest was 3 days old.
“We are seeing a steady number of coronavirus cases among the young in Kentucky, and make no mistake: Youth is not a guarantee of a good outcome against this virus,” the Governor said.
Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported nine new deaths Sunday, raising the total to 881 Kentuckians lost to the virus.
“That’s nine more families that are suffering during this time,” said Gov. Beshear.
The deaths reported Sunday included a 63-year-old man from Johnson County; a 63-year-old man from Shelby County; two men from Lewis County, ages 73 and 78; a 72-year-old man from Knox County; a 77-year-old woman from Oldham County; and an 88-year-old woman from Scott County. Green County lost two residents, a 90-year-old woman and a 91-year-old man.
Due to limited reporting on Sundays, some data is unavailable until Monday.
“The mask mandate, group restriction to 10 or less and other steps implemented in July have made a positive impact,” said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health. “Based on the number of new cases, Kentucky concludes this week at the end of a new and elevated four-week plateau.”
He noted, “While this is good news, we remain in a difficult place and Kentucky could quickly begin a rapid escalation.
“These are difficult times without simple solutions,” continued Dr. Stack. “Through their actions, local leaders have an obligation to keep the virus under control to reduce the risk of medical harm to their students, staff, and larger communities.
“Please, socially distance greater than six feet. Wear a mask at all times when in public and around others. Wash your hands often. Check for signs of infection and get tested if ill. Cooperate with contact tracing if you are called. If we do these things, we can contain the coronavirus and get back to more of the activities we miss,” urged Dr. Stack.
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.
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.