The state of Kentucky reported its highest one-day number of new COVID-19 cases on Friday, but Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear did not announce any new restrictions.
Beshear reported 3,173 new cases on Friday. That’s the first time the number topped 3,000. It also marked the fourth time in two weeks the state has established a new record.
The state also announced 25 deaths of people with COVID-19, also a single-day high. The state’s positivity rate is nearly 8.7 percent.
“This is the toughest spot we’ve been in so far,” Beshear said. “Please follow those red zone county recommendations and school recommendations. You must do your part. If you are not wearing a mask, you are putting yourself at personal risk. We cannot let this escalation continue. Everybody’s got to pull their weight.”
Of the state’s 120 counties, 97 are in the red zone, which means they average more than 25 cases per 100,000 people. The state’s recommendations for those counties include urging companies to allow their employees to work from home, urging people to order takeout or delivery instead of dining in and asking customers to order goods online instead of going into stores.
The impact of the rising caseload can be felt across the state.
Earlier on Friday, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet announced that seven driver’s license offices across the state had been closed because of COVID-19 cases. The offices are being sanitized and are expected to reopen next week, perhaps as early as Tuesday.
Louisville TV station WDRB reported that the Archdiocese of Louisville, which runs about 50 schools in Louisville and surrounding communities, has recommended to its schools that they should transition to virtual learning beginning Nov. 23 and lasting through the rest of the calendar year.
“The health department is overwhelmed with cases,” Catholic Schools Superintendent Leisa Schulz said in an email WDRB obtained. “While our schools remain safe, we anticipate our challenges will continue to grow in the coming weeks, and our schools’ abilities to straddle both ‘in-person’ and remote learning will become increasingly difficult.”
The Pikeville Medical Center will expand its COVID-19 unit to an additional floor. In Prestonsburg, the intensive care unit at Highlands Regional Medical Center is at capacity.
“This is a wake up call,” Dr. Fadi Al Akhrass, who serves as the director of infectious diseases at the Pikeville hospital, told the Herald-Leader. “We need to take all the steps to combat the virus.”
