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Gov. Andy Beshear did not announce new restrictions for Kentucky residents on Monday after COVID-19 cases hit record highs two weeks in a row.
Beshear called the 543 new cases “worrisome,” as lab reporting schedules typically reduce Monday numbers.
“If current trends continue, it will be a difficult fall and a difficult winter,” Beshear said.
Last week’s total of 6,126 “broke” Kentucky’s previous record, which was set the week before, Beshear said. A new one-day total of 1,275 was also reached on Saturday.
The total number of Kentucky cases has exceeded 73,000.
“You have to think about how fast it is increasing,” Beshear said. “We had 6,000 cases last week. It took us two months between the first COVID case to reach 6,000 cases, and we did it in just one week last week. “
Despite acknowledging that the spread of the coronavirus is increasing, Beshear did not take any additional measures at the state level on Monday to combat the spread. Over the weekend, he added Florida to the list of states with hot spots and urged residents not to go to the beach during fall break on Monday.
Beshear has been asked in recent weeks what it would take to implement new restrictions outside of travel recommendations, but he has not provided any concrete details on what would trigger those steps. On September 24, he said indications of “real escalation would be needed, and not something that could go up and down.”
Beginning Monday, Beshear said the state will “step up enforcement” of the mask requirements and asked the county mayors and executive judges to do the same. He said more restrictions will be considered if the spread growth does not slow in the coming weeks and the White House recommendations call for capacity changes at companies.
“If the White House is recommending a capacity change and we think that is also the right thing to do, it should go ahead and do it,” Beshear said. “It’s something that if we don’t change this, we will have to take it very seriously.”
Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack echoed Beshear, noting the sharp escalation seen in recent weeks. He warned of exponential growth in case the totals if the spread continue at this rate.
“This is scary, because when we’re this high, the numbers go up a lot faster,” Stack said. “Clearly we are now on an escalation. There is no doubt about it. “
Comparing national case totals to other countries such as Canada, Germany and New Zealand, Stack said the results of disease management in the United States are “embarrassing.” States that have seen particularly large spikes during the pandemic include New York, Florida, Arizona, and Texas.
“Unfortunately, we are now in an experiment here in the state of Kentucky to prove or disprove whether our rural state will experience the same tragedies that have unfolded elsewhere,” Stack said. “One of the tragedies that influences this is that it is something that, at least theoretically, is under our control if we choose different behaviors.”
Beshear said that adhering to the mask and social distancing guidelines is the best way to combat the spread of the coronavirus. She added that Kentuckians have successfully slowed the spread before and that she believes it is possible again if everyone follows the guidelines.
