Phased reopening begins across state

Ohio County had seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday bringing the total to 74.

The seven new cases come after two days of zero new cases and on the heels of the highest total for one-day positives with 15 announced on Thursday.

During his Tuesday briefing, Judge-Executive David Johnston said that statewide it appears that the numbers have plateaued.

Gov. Andy Beshear announced 625 new positive cases in the state Tuesday, which includes 309 inmates and staff from Green River Correctional Complex in Muhlenberg County. Because the number of cases at GRCC had continued to climb, all of the staff and inmates were tested.

“We still believe with these numbers that we have reached the plateau,” the governor said based on the combined numbers from the past few days.

The numbers have allowed for the governor to begin a phased reopening process across the state.

On Monday, the governor offered new details on guidelines for businesses and healthcare providers looking to restart safely in what is being called the “Healthy at Work” initiative.

What began with the phased reopening of certain healthcare services last week continues as other business sectors prepare to relaunch operations in Phase 1 of Healthy at Work. State leaders asked partners in the business community for proposals on how they plan to operate while keeping their customers safe, and the state has already received more than 1,000 plans. The proposals, while not required, are expected to include best practices to safely operate and each industry’s capabilities for reopening.

Under the schedule outlined by Gov. Beshear, more businesses will be allowed to open May 11 with new minimum requirements, as well as industry specific requirements. Among the businesses that will be allowed to operate as of May 11 are manufacturing, distribution and supply chain businesses, construction, vehicle or vessel dealerships, office-based businesses (at 50% pre-pandemic capacity), horse racing (no fans in attendance), pet care, grooming and boarding and photography.

On May 20, retail and houses of worship can reopen provided they meet minimum requirements.

On May 25, barbershops and salons and similar services can reopen provided they meet specific industry requirements and social gatherings of 10 or less can resume.

Johnston said the courthouse and community center would reopen Tuesday, May 26 even though they could have reopened a week prior.

“We decided to wait another week to get our (safety) measures into place to help with social distancing,” he said.

Those measures include shields on desks, spacing six feet apart and implementing checkpoints at the front doors of the buildings.

Johnston said that the number of positive cases at Perdue seems to be a concern to many Ohio Countians.

According to Susan Dunlap, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services executive director of public affairs, there has been a total of 172 positive cases from Perdue Farms in Cromwell as of the latest numbers she received on May 3, which is up 48 from last week.

“I am totally convinced that Perdue is doing everything they can to prevent the spread of this virus,” Johnston said.

Johnston said Perdue is paying for employee testing and operating at a fraction of their processing capacity to allow for social distancing.

As of the latest numbers released on Tuesday, of the 74 confirmed cases in Ohio County, 27 of those patients have recovered. Two patients are currently hospitalized.

In Kentucky, 61,013 tests have been conducted with 5,822 confirmed positives. There have been 274 deaths statewide as of Tuesday afternoon.

According to the CDC, there have been 1,171,510 positive cases in the United States with 68,279 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon.

“I do believe conditions are improving and I do believe in a few weeks we are going to see somewhat of a normalcy or get back to the new normal,” Johnston said.