Gov. Beshear Asks for Kentuckians’ Best Efforts in COVID-19 Fight

Amid Passover and Easter celebrations, Governor urges compliance as cases continue to grow

FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 10, 2020) – Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday urged Kentuckians of all faiths to stay strong in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as cases continue to grow.

“This is a time and weekend, a whole week for multiple faiths, that is about faith. It’s about knowing we have faced as people – as Christians, as Jews, as members of many faiths – many difficult, dark times, and we have prevailed,” the Governor said. “We know that the weeks or the months ahead will be difficult. We know that there are going to be tougher days before there are easier days. But we also know because we have faith that we are going to get through this and we are going to get through it together. We are going to pass this test of humanity.”

While getting compliance and support from a vast majority of leaders and Kentuckians in the faith community, Gov. Beshear is warning anyone planning to attend an in-person mass gathering this weekend that they will face quarantine orders.

“This is the only way we can ensure that your decision doesn’t kill someone else,” the Governor said. Gov. Beshear has noted that an outbreak in Hopkins County that sickened dozens and led to multiple deaths was traced to a church revival there in mid-March.

He said officials are aware of only about six churches in the commonwealth that are still planning to hold in-person services.

Anyone attending such a gathering will be notified it is a misdemeanor violation of the emergency orders issued by the Governor and Kentucky Department for Public Health. The Governor said the order is for all mass gatherings and not just worship services.

Gov. Beshear said Kentucky State Police will be recording the license plate numbers of any vehicle seen at the gatherings. Local health officials then will contact the people associated with those vehicles and require them to self-quarantine for 14 days.

“Folks, we shouldn’t have to do this,” the Governor said. “What we’re asking is for you to love your neighbor as yourself. We shouldn’t have to do this.”

Gov. Beshear also played a video featuring faith leaders from around the commonwealth, who all stressed that Kentuckians need to stay healthy at home this weekend.

“I want to encourage you to meet together separately this Sunday, to remind you that on that first Easter Jesus came to people behind locked doors,” Chris Michael, pastor of the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Owensboro said. “He will come to you as well.”

While mass gatherings are banned and many travel restrictions are in place, the Governor has told Kentuckians not to worry about the Easter Bunny, who has been deemed an “essential worker” and will be able to travel and work this weekend.

The long-term care task force

Gov. Beshear on Friday convened a new task force aimed at addressing concerns in Kentucky’s long-term care facilities, where residents and staffers are at elevated risk to coronavirus outbreaks.

The new 10-member advisory board is comprised of professionals who represent a range of specialties and perspectives.

“This fast-moving situation,” said Eric Friedlander, acting secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. “We’ve asked a very small group of individuals – 10 individuals, most of the physicians – to come and help us think through how to balance all these different things, and to make sure we’re protecting our loved ones.”

The board’s initial goal is to develop a variety of protocols to help the facilities operate safely while dealing with COVID-19 cases amid residents and staffers.

Sign language lesson
Virginia Moore, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, provided a lesson Friday in American Sign Language.

Moore took to the lectern and explained how to sign the phrase that Gov. Beshear repeats at the beginning of each news conference on the coronavirus: “We will get through this, and we will get through this together.”

Gov. Beshear participated in learning ASL and promised that Moore will continue to offer lessons at future news conferences “so as we go through this each and every day so that all of us can better communicate with each and every brother and sister here in the commonwealth.”

Case information
As of 5 p.m. April 10, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 1,693 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 242 of which were newly confirmed. The total included a revision after a duplicate report was discovered.

“It is here. We are in the midst of our surge and escalating cases. Now is the time we have to be at our very best,” the Governor said. “The next couple of weeks being absolutely critical not only to us blunting or flattening the curve but really protecting those that are most vulnerable, especially our seniors that are in different types of assisted living facilities.”

Even amid the escalating cases, Gov. Beshear noted a hopeful sign as Kentuckians recover from the illness.

“We can report – this is really good news – that we have had at least 464 Kentuckians recovered. That’s 27 percent,” he said. “And when you think about the period of time that it takes to recover because it’s not really short, that’s really positive news already.”

Sadly, Gov. Beshear said 11 new deaths were reported Friday, raising the state’s toll to 90 deaths related to the virus.

The newly reported deaths include six men from Jefferson County, ages 66, 68, 75, 92 and two 73-year-olds; a 77-year-old man from Butler County; a 75-year-old woman in Meade County; a 75-year-old man in McCracken County; an 80-year-old man in Hopkins County; and an 81-year-old from Daviess County.

As a sign of compassion and renewal, the Governor asked Kentuckians again to join him in lighting their homes green tonight in honor of the lives lost.

“These are 11 individuals that are loved by their families, their communities,” Gov. Beshear said. “That means we’ve lost 90 amazing Kentuckians, which is a loss to all of us. So for 90 separate Kentuckians, let’s commit to doing better. I know you’re working hard; let’s commit to doing better.”

Gov. Beshear also offered an update on the racial breakdown of COVID-19 patients, which has been the subject of news stories across the country.

The Governor said with about 69% of the known cases accounted for, Kentucky’s cases included about 81.72% Caucasian, 11.70% African-American, 3.54% other race, 2.5% Asian, 3.86% multiracial and 0.1% Native American or Alaskan Native.

On fatalities attributed to the coronavirus, with about 81% of the known cases accounted for, Kentucky deaths included about 79.45% Caucasian, 19.17% African-American and 1.36% Asian.

More information
The Governor is asking all Kentuckians to continue to fight the spread of the virus by following his 10-step guidance, which includes practicing social distancing and staying healthy at home. Gov. Beshear says these efforts have the potential to save the lives of as many as 11,000 Kentuckians.

Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov, and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Watch the Governor’s social media accounts at 5 p.m. ET each day for his regular briefing.

Unemployment Climbs As COVID-19 Ravages The Economy

By Victoria Ratliff
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS—Indiana, like the rest of the country, saw a near-record number of people applying for unemployment last week as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to roil the economy and upend lives.

During Gov. Eric Holcomb’s daily press conference, Fred Payne, commissioner of the Department of Workforce Development, said the state is breaking all records for unemployment claims. During the week of March 28, a little more than 139,000 Hoosiers filed for unemployment. Claims were slightly down during the week ending April 4, with slightly more than 133,000 unemployment claims filed.

“Although we’re seeing a high number of claims being filed in Indiana, we’re also tracking an extremely large number of claims being paid,” he said as he described the work of his office. Since the beginning of April, the state has already made about 175,000 payments, compared to 71,000 payments in the entire month of April 2019.

The skyrocketing increase in employment comes as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, with Holcomb cautioning that the state has not yet hit the apex of the pandemic. Dr. Kristina Box, the commissioner of the Indiana State Department of Health, said there were 430 new cases of the virus for a total of 6,351, and 42 new deaths to report for a total of 245.

Holcomb continued to express the importance of social distancing and limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people. He and Box both urged people to continue to adhere to these guidelines during this holy week of both Christian and Jewish faiths.

“My only desire, our only desire is for your family, your congregation, the very definition of the word congregation, if for you to be as safe and as strong and as health next week as you are this week,” Holcomb said. “I would just say to everyone on these coming days, get the word and then get home.”

Box said the possible spread of the virus can be limited if participants stay home or attend services in their vehicles.

“If you do feel the need to go into a field or go into a parking lot, I would say communions should be brought from your own home,” she said. “Bring your own crackers, your own juice or sparkling wine, and take that in remembrance of our Lord.”

The holiday season this year comes at a time when the nation is experiencing levels of unemployment that haven’t been seen since the Great Depression. More than 16.6 million people nationwide have applied for unemployment since the beginning of the outbreak.

Some of those who have been hit hard are those who are self-employed, who are eligible for special unemployment benefits under the federal pandemic recovery legislation.

However, Payne said the state isn’t currently able to process claims filed by self-employed workers, including independent contractors, because the state needs to build a new system to accommodate them.

“Once we identify a date certain when that new system or the program will roll out, we will let you know,” he said. The claims will be paid retroactive to March 29, he added.

Unemployment claims can be filed online here.

House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, said in a statement that those who are still working through the pandemic need to be sure they are protected. He wrote a letter to Holcomb asking that employers provide paid sick leave to Hoosier workers amidst the COVID-19 outbreak to ensure they don’t accidentally spread the virus.

In his letter, he said the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which requires certain employers to provide workers impacted by COVID-19 with 80 hours of paid sick leave, was a step in the right direction. But, he said, this law doesn’t protect Hoosiers that work for a private company with more than 500 employees.

“I firmly believe that all Hoosiers should have access to paid family and medical leave regardless of the size of the company they work for,” he said in the letter.

He said that the state’s $2 billion surplus and financial resources dedicated to the state should be used to offset the financial impact on the state.

“During this pandemic, paid family and medical leave are essential to ensure that individuals who are infected (or have been exposed to COVID-19 due to caring for a sick family member) can remain home to help prevent the spread of this deadly virus,” he said.

FOOTNOTE: Victoria Ratliff is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

IT IS A MARATHON

Gavel Gamut By Jim Redwine

Modern Americans have been blessed by the sacrifices of many before us. We can hope each person who gave their lives in service to America believed the Roman poet Horace (65 BCE-08 BCE) was correct: Est dulce et decor pro patria morte.

One of those previous Americans to whom we owe a debt of gratitude was John Kennedy (1917-1963). Kennedy was injured in battle in World War II and suffered severe back pain because of it. As a young man, he sat in a rocking chair to ease his pain. Yet Kennedy did not take the position America owed him anything. In his presidential inaugural address of January 20, 1961, he exhorted us to ask not what our country can do for us but what we can do for our country. 

And as the English poet John Donne (1572-1631) advised, when one hears a bell tolling because someone has died, it tolls for each of us because we are all involved in mankind. As Donne observed, each person’s death diminishes us all.

Our current conflict pits all of us against a frightening enemy. It is COVID-19 against us all much as our country has been attacked many times before. Previous Americans have had to make similar difficult sacrifices. Through no one’s fault, including our own, it is now our time to face tough choices. My experiences with Americans and a reading of our country’s history convinces me that we are up to the challenge.

Oh, I am aware we could ignore the virus and it would eventually die out as we develop natural antibodies to it. We might lose a couple of million people from COVID-19 and then millions more later as COVID-19 becomes COVID-20, 21, etc., as it mutates. But chances are most of our country’s 330 million people would survive, the economy would recover quickly and as the folk singer Phil Ochs (1940-1976) wrote, probably hardly anyone would long notice, “outside of a small circle of friends”. Fortunately, most Americans see their duty to their country more as recommended by President Kennedy.

However, it is not easy. A great many people have had important matters in their lives simply devastated by the enemy and our collective response to it. Weddings, funerals, religious services, life savings, graduations, and countless other vital and important matters have been ravaged by something completely beyond the affected people’s control and something for which they bear no blame. We should recognize these sacrifices just as we know we have been blessed by the selflessness of previous Americans. But with a steadfast resoluteness, we can weather this storm by applying proven guidelines until we defeat this scourge, which we most certainly will do within the next few months.

We are in a Marathon. It started out as a battle against a fierce enemy from Asia much as the ancient Greeks faced when the Persians attacked. We are now well on the way to victory. It is no longer more than twenty-six miles. Athens is in sight but we must stay the course for a while longer. Pheidippides made it the whole way in 490 BCE and so can we.

For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.jamesmredwine.com

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