FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday updated Kentuckians on the state’s continuing efforts to fight the novel coronavirus 2019.
‘The Fast 4 at 4’
Gov. Beshear on Tuesday highlighted a variety of issues of importance to Kentuckians and the commonwealth.
- Eviction Relief
Gov. Beshear spoke today about his administration’s latest attempts to help renters and eligible landlords keep people safely in their homes during the pandemic.“In August, I announced $15 million in federal CARES Act dollars to create a Healthy at Home Eviction Relief Fund and today I am announcing Kentuckians can now apply for assistance via an online application at teamkyhherf.ky.gov,” the Governor said. “As we continue to wage this battle against COVID-19, we must make sure renters have a home so they can be Healthy at Home, while also safeguarding landlords against undue financial hardship.”
Last week, Gov. Beshear updated the state’s executive order on evictions to reflect the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s moratorium on residential evictions through Dec. 31.
“The CDC said that it is a public health threat for people to be evicted at this time,” the Governor said. “So the federal government put in place an eviction moratorium. Despite that, we are going to continue to move forward with our Healthy at Home Eviction Relief Fund and other steps that will provide relief to renters and financial help to landlords. We cannot end this COVID-19 crisis with a financial crisis.”
The state’s Healthy at Home Eviction Relief Fund will: a) Serve eligible households in 119 of Kentucky’s 120 counties as Jefferson County is managing its own federally funded eviction relief program; b) Prevent the eviction of Kentucky tenants; and c) Reimburse eligible landlords for missed rent payments and potentially pay some advance rent to keep tenants in their homes.
For those outside of Jefferson County, tenants at risk of eviction and landlords owed back rent are encouraged to visit teamkyhherf.ky.gov to see if you meet the qualifications of this program.
“There are so many opportunities right now for us to solve this issue,” Gov. Beshear said. “With all of these funds available, if everyone acts in good faith, nobody needs to worry about getting kicked out and nobody’s credit needs to get ruined. Everyone can get a little bit of help to get through this.”
- Riverport Grants
Gov. Beshear on Tuesday announced $450,000 in grants from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet have been awarded for crucial repairs and equipment needs at five Kentucky riverports, located in Eddyville, Henderson, Louisville, Owensboro and Paducah.“One of Kentucky’s greatest natural assets is our abundance of waterways,” the Governor said. “Our Kentucky riverports help move the nation’s cargo and create high-wage jobs. It’s essential to keep them modernized and well-maintained so we can continue to build that better Kentucky.”
He noted that the riverports applied for the grants and must match the state’s grant funding with their own.
The grants are going to: a) Owensboro Riverport Authority – $120,082 toward purchase of a front-end loader for daily handling of bulk products. The new loader will replace an unreliable 11-year-old machine; b) Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority – $109,890 toward repair of erosion of embankment that supports a boat lift near a boat repair bay; c) Henderson County Riverport Authority – $108,000 toward removal and replacement of two 40-year-old, damaged mooring structures called “dolphins” that are essential to operation of the loading docks; d) Louisville-Jefferson County Riverport Authority – $95,792 toward repair of rail line by replacing 1,000 wooden crossties and 49 switch ties; e) Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority – $16,236 toward repair of a loading chute on the conveyor system that moves commodities from the river to the riverport’s sand and gravel yard.
- Voting
Gov. Beshear again encouraged all Kentuckians to make a plan to vote, either by mail, in person during early voting or in person on Election Day.“Remember you have more ways to vote than ever before,” said Gov. Beshear. “If you’re concerned about COVID-19, you can go online right now to request an absentee ballot at GoVoteKy.com.”
- Mask Up Kentucky
Gov. Beshear also stressed the continued importance of everyone wearing face coverings, calling it the single most important thing all of us can do to fight COVID-19.“This is our greatest and most important tool for getting back to everything we want to do,” the Governor said. “Do the right thing: Mask up.”
He also encouraged Kentuckians to spread the word on social media using #MaskUpKY and #MaskUpKentucky hashtags.
Case Information – Tuesday, Sept. 8
As of 4 p.m. Sept. 8, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 53,319 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 273 of which were newly reported Tuesday. Forty-seven of the newly reported cases were from children ages 18 and younger, of which eight were children ages 5 and under.
“Because of labs being closed for the holiday, we should anticipate having large numbers for cases and deaths during the next few days,” the Governor said.
Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported one new death Tuesday, raising the total to 997 Kentuckians lost to the virus.
The death reported Tuesday was a 79-year-old man from Lewis County.
“Let’s just remember that as we approach 1,000 deaths related to COVID-19 that these are real people that we love and we care about,” the Governor said. “They are not just numbers, or statistics to use in arguments about if the virus is real or not.”
As of Tuesday, there have been at least 929,212 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate currently stands at 3.91 percent. At least 10,665 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. To see all recent daily reports, click here.
Information about COVID-19 and schools is also being made available. To view the reports, click here for K-12 and here for colleges and universities.
Case Information – Monday, Sept. 7
Due to limited reporting on the weekends, some updated information is now available from Monday, Sept. 7.
As of Monday, there were 927,819 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate was at 4.34 percent and at least 10,648 Kentuckians had recovered from the virus.
For a detailed look at coronavirus case information from Monday, Sept. 7, click here.
Case Information – Sunday, Sept. 6
Due to limited reporting on the weekends, some updated information is now available from Sunday, Sept. 6.
As of Sunday, there were 926,628 coronavirus tests performed in Kentucky. The positivity rate was at 4.27 percent and at least 10,628 Kentuckians had recovered from the virus.
For a detailed look at coronavirus case information from Sunday, Sept. 6, click here.
Remembrance
As he has repeatedly has done over the past months, Gov. Beshear on Tuesday again noted numbers alone cannot convey the depth of losing a family member or friend to the coronavirus. He shared another personal story of the Kentuckians lost in this fight.
“Gaynell Howard of Louisville is one of the beloved Kentuckians lost to the coronavirus. She was 89 years old and loved by her family. She was a mother of two sons, a grandmother to five grandchildren and a great-grandmother to four,” the Governor said. “They described Howard as generous. She never forgot a birthday. She always offered words of encouragement. Her children said she was a great mother – always patient and loving. She loved to read her Bible and always attended services at Eastern Star Baptist Church.”
Gov. Beshear said the last time her family spoke to her was March 9 after Treyton Oak Tower, where Gaynell lived, stopped visits because of the virus. Howard passed away April 13.
“During their last conversation her family told her, ‘We love you,’ and she told them the same,” he said.
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 summaries of the Governor’s news conferences at teamkentuckytranslations.com.