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Gov. Beshear Provides Update on Events in Louisville, COVID-19

Visit the Governor’s Facebook page to watch today’s news conference

FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 2, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday updated Kentuckians on demonstrations in Louisville and the state’s continuing measures to address the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

“As we move forward, we will be reducing our National Guard presence in Louisville,” the Governor said. “That is a recommendation by our adjutant general that we will be following.”

Gov. Beshear talked about the search for justice for Breonna Taylor, a Louisville woman whose death touched off the protests there.

“Yesterday, I met with Breonna Taylor’s mother before she came up here. I sat and I listened. What I heard was a mother in pain. She wants justice and the truth. She deserves both,” the Governor said. “Breonna’s death along with others across the country have led to thousands of people giving voice and demand for truly equal treatment under the law and an end to injustices that permeate almost every part of our society.”

Gov. Beshear also spoke of the death of David McAtee. He noted that he authorized the Kentucky State Police’s Critical Incident Response Team to quickly investigate McAtee’s death.

J. Michael Brown, secretary for the Governor’s Executive Cabinet, spoke about the state of the investigation.

“I can tell you very preliminarily the first results of an autopsy seem to indicate that Mr. McAtee succumbed to a single – we believe – a single gunshot wound to the chest, but tests on bullet fragments will have to be conducted at the Kentucky State Police crime lab to see if we can determine what exactly type of bullet he was struck by,” Brown said. “At this time we do not know that. We do believe it was a single bullet.”

“It is our belief at this time that approximately 18 shots were fired between the Kentucky National Guard and the Louisville Metro Police that evening. Those weapons are also in our custody for further testing, and they will be tested for DNA and any other things we can get from them,” he added.

Brown said that the goal is to get all the facts, get them quickly, and be able to present, as much as possible, a clear determination of what happened shortly after midnight on June 1.

The Governor said: “Our commitment is the truth, no matter what that truth is – good, bad, ugly – our commitment is the truth. That’s what the people of Kentucky deserve. That’s what the families involved in this deserve. And that’s what we’re going to ensure happens.”

Gov. Beshear pledged to continue to listen and to take action.

“I hope later this week we are going to announce some of our initial plans about trying to get with leaders in the African-American community and the actual providers – hospital systems, Medicaid, insurers, all in the same room together. Not to have a task force or a study but to see how we can actually get this done. How we can actually make change in the health of individuals,” the Governor said. “Just like in many ways it shouldn’t have had to take some terrible incidents around our country to wake people up or to get them to listen to the type of injustices that are occurring in our society, it shouldn’t take a one-in-every-100-year pandemic for us to see the same in health care.”

Case information
As of 4 p.m. June 2, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 10,185 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 155 of which were newly confirmed Tuesday.

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported three new deaths Tuesday, raising the total to 442 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Tuesday to include a 69-year-old woman from Clay County, a 94-year-old man from Jefferson County, and a 92-year-old man from Muhlenberg County.

“Let’s keep lighting our homes up green,” the Governor said. “Let’s continue to ring our bells at 10 a.m. Let’s do it for those that we’ve lost from this and from senseless violence. Everybody that we’ve lost should still be here and deserves that same level of compassion.”

At least 3,275 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus. For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race, and ethnicity, click here.

U.S. Supreme Court decision
Gov. Beshear spoke Tuesday about a new decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that confirms that his actions to protect public health are consistent with the U.S. Constitution.

In four federal court cases, plaintiffs – including Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron – argued that Kentucky’s executive order on mass gatherings, which prohibited people from congregating in groups, was unconstitutional. Gov. Beshear and officials with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services insisted that the restrictions were both legal and necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Late Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order agreeing with Gov. Beshear and confirming that the order limiting mass gatherings did not violate the Constitution.

In an opinion rejecting a church’s challenge to California’s order against mass gatherings, Chief Justice John Roberts said state officials have broad latitude to protect public health and admonished federal courts not to “second-guess” states’ temporary emergency measures.

“Where those broad limits are not exceeded, they should not be subject to second-guessing by an ‘unelected federal judiciary,’ which lacks the background, competence, and expertise to assess public health and is not accountable to the people,” Roberts wrote in his opinion.

The Governor’s Office of General Counsel is making the various federal courts aware of the Supreme Court’s decisive opinion, which should resolve all current cases challenging the Governor’s orders.

Testing expansion
Gov. Beshear continues to urge Kentuckians to get tested for COVID-19. For information on how to register at sites throughout the commonwealth visit kycovid19.ky.gov.

“I know we are now in the upper half of states for the total number of tests that have been run, and that’s an incredible story, given where we started,” the Governor said about ongoing testing efforts.

Absentee Ballot Application Portal online
Gov. Beshear is encouraging all voters to use a new Absentee Ballot Application Portal now available online. A link to the State Board of Elections’ portal can be found at govoteky.com. He urged everyone who plans to vote in next month’s primary elections to go to the portal and request an absentee mail-in ballot.

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) today announced that 430 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at ISDH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private laboratories. That brings to 35,237 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total.

Intensive care unit and ventilator capacity remain steady. As of today, nearly 44 percent of ICU beds and more than 83 percent of ventilators are available.

A total of 2,022 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 46 over the previous day. Another 175 probable deaths have been reported based on clinical diagnoses in patients for whom no positive test is on record. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days.

To date, 271,919 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 265,896 on Monday.

Hoosiers who have symptoms of COVID-19 and those who have been exposed and need a test to return to work are encouraged to visit a state-sponsored testing site for free testing. Individuals without symptoms who are at high risk because they are over age 65, have diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or another underlying condition, as well as those who are pregnant, live with a high-risk individual or are a member of a minority population that is at greater risk for severe illness, also are encouraged to get tested.

To find testing locations, visit www.coronavirus.in.gov and click on the COVID-19 testing information link. More than 200 locations are available around the state.

Vanderburgh County and local communities are eligible for more than $9.7 million to cover COVID-19-related expenses through the federal stimulus package, according to local legislators.

Indiana allocated $300 million in federal funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economics Security Act to counties and communities for reimbursement of expenditures related to the pandemic. State Rep. Matt Hostettler (R-Fort Branch) said the funding, allocated based on population, cannot be used to replace lost tax revenue.

“Some communities are suffering more economic consequences than others fighting this virus,” Hostettler said. “Local officials have done a great job keeping Hoosiers safe, and this funding can help recoup money spent that wasn’t expected.”

Vanderburgh County is eligible for $5,871,481 in reimbursement funding, with Darmstadt eligible for $46,329 and Evansville eligible for $3,827,165.

State Rep. Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville) said local towns seeking reimbursement for eligible COVID-19 expenses should coordinate with their county government.

“Receiving these funds will help ease the unexpected expenses our community incurred while responding to the unforeseen impact of the virus,” McNamara said. “This isn’t something officials could have predicted to budget for, so this money could really help us at the local level.”

According to State Rep. Holli Sullivan (R-Evansville), the Indiana Finance Authority is in charge of implementing guidelines on how each county, city, and town can use the funding, as well as compiling reimbursement requests through accepted documentation including invoices.

“Local governments are resourceful and looking for any funds available to fight COVID-19,” Sullivan said. “This money can help communities recover certain costs as they worked to protect Hoosiers and fight this virus.”