By Lee Bratcher/OC Monitor
**UPDATE** HARTFORD, Ky. (10/15/20-9:12 a.m.) — This update is to correct the time for Gov. Andy Beshear’s meeting with the state’s judge-exexctives as stated by Ohio County Judge-Executive David Johnston at Tuesday’s fiscal court meeting. Gov. Beshear’s meeting was scheduled for 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. The correction has been made in the story below. No word on whether the meeting went ahead as scheduled or what the outcome of the meeting was.
HARTFORD, Ky. — Ohio County Judge-Executive gave the fiscal court a county COVID-19 update at Tuesday night’s meeting. As part of the update, Johnston warned of possible upcoming restrictions from Gov. Andy Beshear.
According to Johnston, as of Tuesday, for the month of October, the amount of COVID-19 related deaths in the Green River District had doubled the previous months’ death. In Ohio County, nine people have died due to COVID-19 and at the time of the Tuesday’s meeting, 65 people in the GRADD area had died. Two more deaths were recorded Wednesday bringing the total to 67.
“Of the nine deaths (in Ohio County), I know at least five of them,” Johnston said. “This thing is real. It’s not just some abstract number. And even though older people are susceptible to (COVID-19), there are younger people dying too.”
Johnston reported Ohio County’s active COVID-19 case number as 93 at the time of the Tuesday’s meeting. According to the Green River District Health Department Wednesday, Ohio County had 89 active confirmed COVID-19 cases.
“(The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ohio County) is much higher than it’s ever been and it keeps going up, up, up, and we’re not having any relief as far as it going down,” Johnston told the court members. “These are scary times, you’re talking about the deaths have doubled?”
Johnston said Ohio County was now in the “red zone” for new coronavirus cases, which meant, “if you’re traveling, don’t go to Ohio County, Kentucky, because they’re in a redzone. That’s not good at all.”
Johnston provided some “good news,” as he recently spoke to U.S. Senator Rand Paul, who told Johnston the death rate in the country was going down.
“But not here in (the Green River Area District), GRADD has gone up in its death rate,” Johnston said.
Johnston urged Ohio Countians to follow the guidelines laid out by the health officials and Gov. Andy Beshear’s Office.
“We do not know everything we need to do to get (the coronavirus) in check, or we’d be doing it,” Johnston said. “But we do know, that wearing a mask and washing our hands and keeping our distance from people, we know that helps. It’s not foolproof, but we know that helps and we need to do what we know to do.”
Johnston thanked Gov. Beshear’s Office for all its help during the pandemic. Johnston also announced Gov. Beshear would be meeting with all the state’s judge-executives Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. to make a “big announcement.”
“I would not be surprised if we have don’t have some further restrictions because of the increase of (positive COVID-19) cases and the increased death rate,” Johnston told the court.
Johnston again asked Ohio Countians to follow the COVID-19 guidelines, if for no other reason than to keep from having further restrictions placed on people and businesses.
Johnston ended his update to the court by saying he would appear on the Ohio County Fiscal Court’s Facebook page to discuss the results of the meeting with Gov. Beshear.