Gov. Andy Beshear announced 2,342 new cases of coronavirus in Kentucky on Thursday, the third-highest daily total to date.
Beshear said the virus continues to spread at an alarming rate across the state and nation.
“With this level of COVID right now, if you aren’t wearing a mask, it’s just a matter of time until you’re going to get the virus,” Beshear said during a news conference on Thursday.
There are now 94 of Kentucky’s 120 countiesin the “red zone,” meaning the state is urging people in those counties to work from home if they can, postpone gatherings with anyone outside their households, and order takeout from restaurants.
Despite the surge in the virus in Kentucky, Beshear says he’s still not at the point where he wants to impose new restrictions on businesses.
“Right now, we are not considering any full shut down of any industry. If we get to that point, it would certainly be limited in duration,” Beshear said.
“We shouldn’t have to, if people will do the right thing and if businesses will enforce it. It’s all in the hands of Kentuckians to do the right thing so we don’t have to consider those options.”
TheKentucky Supreme Court issued a ruling earlier on Thursday, deciding that Beshear’s emergency orders during the pandemic were legal, despite a lawsuit filed by several Northern Kentucky businesses and Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
On Thursday, 1,311 Kentuckians were in the hospital being treated for the virus, up from 1,274 on Wednesday.
The state’s positivity rate was at 8.29%.
Beshear also announced 18 new deaths associated with the virus, bringing the state’s total to 1,622.