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Beshear announces new openings

By Melissa Patrick

The governor announced several new openings.

He said the Lake Cumberland, Lake Barkley, Buckhorn Lake and Blue Licks Battlefield state resort parks would reopen June 1, no longer being needed for quarantine of covid-19 patients who aren’t sick enough to be hospitalized. He said state Rep. Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, made a “compelling” case for reopening; Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, told Kentucky Health News that he also asked for the reopening.

Asked why he made the decision, Beshear said, “We think that we are on a decline,” have other facilities that can be used, and Health Commissioner Steven Stack “thought we could get by.”

After commending Kentucky Kingdom’s extensive proposal for reopening, Beshear said the Louisville amusement park would be allowed to open the week of June 29, but cautioned that “it will look very different.”

He said “we believe” that in that same week, guidance will be in place to allow “limited opening” of swimming pools. “It isn’t going to be easy to meet that guidance,” he said, which will include social distancing. He noted that some communities may choose not to open their pools, and asked Kentuckians to trust their local leaders with this decision.

The governor had the Rev. C.B. Akins Sr. of First Baptist Church Bracktown in Lexington offer a prayer for those who had died. Akins spoke about the racial disparities that exist among those who have died from the virus, and society as a whole, and called for systemic change to fix it.

Akins said the nation has long had a “racial pandemic . . . emboldened now afresh by people in powerful positions.” That reflected the language Beshear used after being hung in effigy, blaming the actions of right-wingers on Republican politicians who had “embraced and emboldened” them.

Each day, Beshear breaks down the number of coronavirus cases and covid-19 deaths by race and ethnicity. He reported Thursday that 14.71 percent of the cases and 18.21% of the deaths are among African Americans, while only 8.4% of the state’s population is black.

Repeating a goal he voices frequently, Beshear said, “As we emerge, and we will, from this pandemic, let us be committed to addressing inequalities that have existed in our country for far too long and let’s start with health.”
In other covid-19 news Thursday:

Beshear announced 113 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the adjusted total to 9,184. He said 494 patients are hospitalized with covid-19, with 88 in intensive care. At least 3,181 people have recovered from the virus. HYPERLINK “https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dph/covid19/COVID19DailyReport.pdf”Click here for the state’s daily report.
The counties with the highest number of cases were Jefferson, 15; Warren, 14; Fayette, 12; and Allen and Muhlenberg, seven each.

Beshear reported nine more deaths, for a total of 409. They were of a 74-year-old woman, an 80-year-old man and two 85-year-old men from Boone County, a 71-year-old man from Grant County, a 66-year-old man from Jefferson County, a 72-year-old woman from Warren County, a 67-year-old woman from Butler County and a 70-year-old man from Kenton County.
In long-term care facilities, Beshear reported that 23 more residents and 10 more staff had tested positive, for totals of 1,208 and 573, respectively. He said five more residents had died of covid-19, bringing the death toll up to 244 residents and two staff.
Beshear said 221,118 coronavirus tests have been done in the state, a jump of about 20,000 from yesterday because of a data dump from one lab’s negative results.

Beshear said he is moving unemployment insurance back to the Labor Cabinet from the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, following delayed notification of a confidentiality breach on April 23, when a claimant reported access to other claimants’ identity-verification documents. He said the incident was handled correctly, but it took “way too long” to notify the public of the breach. HYPERLINK “https://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=EducationCabinet&prId=416″Click here for the news release about this incident.
Workforce Deputy Secretary Josh Benton said 10,000 claims from March and 30,000 from April remain to be adjudicated. Beshear said, “There’s a lot of federal law and a lot of hurdles with these.”
Beshear said his moratorium on evictions would be extended beyond June 1, so no one should be evicted.

The State Fair Board has proposed a fair in August with smaller crowds, reduced hours and some mask requirements. Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, a board member, called the proposal “reasonable and responsible.” Beshear said he hadn’t seen the plan.
Beshear said he is reviewing a proposal for reopening of “historical racing” betting parlors.
The Democratic governor said his office hasn’t been invited to attend a legislative hearing on his emergency powers, which is to feature Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is a Republican, as are the majorities in both legislative chambers. “I would hope we simply don’t choose who comments based on party, but that we have a real discussion,” he said.

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