Kentucky

The Midwest could be the next area to see a big surge in coronavirus cases, the top U.S. infectious disease specialist warned Tuesday. But there's still time to stop the upswing, he said, if states follow the national guidelines on reopening safely.

While the Southern United States has been seeing the fastest rise in cases, that now appears to be on the downswing, Fauci told George Stephanopoulos on ABC's Good Morning America.

Gov. Andy Beshear says he will announce further steps on Monday to try to slow the spread of coronavirus in Kentucky. Beshear made the statement shortly after a meeting in which a White House coronavirus adviser recommended that the state close bars and reduce restaurant capacity.

Gov. Andy Beshear says he will announce further steps on Monday to try to slow the spread of coronavirus in Kentucky. Beshear made the statement shortly after a meeting in which a White House coronavirus adviser recommended that the state close bars and reduce restaurant capacity.

In recent days, Beshear has repeatedly warned that he would take action to close bars and reduce crowds at restaurants if the number of COVID-19 in the state continued to rise.

“I will not let us become an Alabama, a Florida or an Arizona. We’ve got to take proactive steps and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Beshear said on Sunday during a press conference.

Kentucky has reported its highest daily numbers of coronavirus cases over the last week—the highest came last Sunday when there were nearly 1,000 new cases and the second highest came on Saturday.

Several U.S. states reported new record-breaking coronavirus case counts over the weekend as the nationwide death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 140,000 and President Trump insisted again that the virus would "disappear."

States such as Florida, California and Kentucky were reporting record or near-record numbers of new cases, and in Texas a hospital official told NPR that funeral homes and morgues were overflowing from the bodies of COVID-19 victims.

The Kentucky Supreme Court has pre-emptively suspended an expected ruling from the Boone Circuit Court to ensure Governor Andy Beshear’s coronavirus restrictions remain in place.

Late Thursday, Boone Circuit Judge Rick Brueggemann signaled his intention to block all of the executive orders Gov. Andy Beshear signed to protect the health of Kentuckians amid surging coronavirus infections.

The impacts of that ruling would have ended the governor’s mask mandate, eviction protections, coronavirus-related business protocols and other executive orders Beshear had signed since his March 6th declaration of a state of emergency.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has filed a motion to suspend executive orders designed to protect the public from the global pandemic currently ravaging the country, and on the rise in the Commonwealth.

In a motion filed Wednesday, Cameron asked the Boone County Circuit Court to issue a temporary injunction nullifying the governor’s orders. Cameron makes numerous claims in the filing, arguing Gov. Andy Beshear’s orders exceed his authority as governor, violate the state Constitution and are unequally applied among Kentucky residents.

Beshear responded in a tweet, saying: “With no rules, there is no chance of getting kids back to school, we will lose over $10 billion in our economy and many Kentuckians will die. I hope everyone understands how scary and reckless this is.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reported 576 new cases of coronavirus during a press briefing Tuesday. 

That’s the state’s second highest number reported in a single day since it began testing — Kentucky recorded its highest single day in early May when state officials tested staff and incarcerated people at Green River Correctional Complex in Central City. 

The total number of cases in Kentucky now stands at 20,223, Beshear said. He also reported six new deaths, which brings the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 635 people.

“It should tell you this virus isn’t playing and neither are we,” he said. “And it puts so many at risk when we all or any of us fail to do our part.”

The Kentucky Board of Education has named Jason Glass as commissioner of education, the state’s top K-12 education official. As commissioner, Glass will lead the 1,000 employees at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), and oversee the state’s public schools, which serve 648,000 students.

“I’m so incredibly grateful for this opportunity to serve the Commonwealth, and I’m excited to embark on this effort to improve the future for all of Kentucky’s children,” Glass said to the board during a special meeting Friday.

“Our world has become faster, more globally interconnected, more competitive — and these things are not slowing down — they are accelerating,” Glass said. “We have to adapt our education system so that we prepare our students to meet those challenges.”

A group of voters and advocacy groups are suing to get Kentucky to continue offering mail-in voting to all eligible voters during the November General Election.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams expanded mail-in voting ahead of Kentucky’s June 23rd primary election in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

But no arrangements have been made to continue allowing all Kentucky voters to cast ballots by mail on November 3.

Kentucky’s Senior U.S. Senator, Republican Mitch McConnell, was in Kentucky Monday to talk about the $12 billion in CARES Act funding received by the state. McConnell’s first stop was at the Dare to Care food bank in Louisville, a nonprofit that received a Payroll Protection Program loan, where he spoke with reporters and greeted workers.

McConnell pointed to the food bank as one of the 47,000 small businesses in the state to receive a PPP loan, totaling $5.2 billion in federal funds.  At the first press conference, McConnell said he expects another federal relief package to get approval sometime in July, as the pandemic is “clearly not over”, he said. COVID-19 has been surging in states like Arizona, Texas and Florida. The senate majority leader said he thinks the next aid bill must address issues like healthcare, jobs, getting kids back in school and liability protection.

Progressives are mounting efforts to best establishment Democrats in Kentucky and New York Tuesday.

Black Lives Matter protests around the country have added energy to the left, and Black progressives are surging in contests in both states.

In Kentucky, the race between the two leading Democrats vying for the right to likely take on Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is coming down to the wire. All the momentum is on the side of state Rep. Charles Booker over Amy McGrath, a retired Marine fighter pilot with a lot of money and the party's backing.