LEXINGTON, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear said further restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 might be needed in Kentucky as soon as Wednesday as he announced 1,514 new cases of the novel coronavirus, the second highest Monday on record.
That dire news came as scientists with the pharmaceutical company Moderna offered another glimmer of hope, announcing their COVID-19 vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective. It will be several months, though, before that vaccine and others will be widely available.
"If we can see that finish line, the question is are we going to try our hardest to lose as few people as possible until we get there," Beshear said. "We need everybody with this new news to buckle down and make sure we're making good decisions every day."
Monday's new cases bring the total number of cases in the state to 139,097. He also announced three new deaths, bringing the death toll to 1,664.
Kentucky's positivity rate is 8.98%, the highest it's been since testing was available to the general public. The positivity rate has increased nearly every day in the month of November.
"We right now are suffering from avoidable loss," Beshear said. "Which means we are having loved ones die that we can stop, that we can prevent."
The focus again has returned to long-term care facilities, as Beshear announced there are 1,598 active cases among nursing home residents and 970 active cases among nursing home staff. Of those residents who are battling the virus, 11 are at the Thompson Hood Veterans Center, where 25 residents have died.
"We shouldn't be sacrificing our seniors because we don't want to wear a mask," Beshear said.
Eric Friedlander, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, announced that visitation to long-term care facilities will be limited over the holidays and that anyone who leaves a facility will be asked to quarantine when they come back. He also said communal dining and group activities in nursing homes will be further restricted.
The virus has also raged in Kentucky's prisons, where there have been more than 2,000 cases among inmates and more than 280 cases among staff over the course of this year.
J. Michael Brown, Beshear's executive Cabinet secretary, said more than half of the inmates at Lee Adjustment Center in Marion County have tested positive for the virus, with 474 positive cases (380 of which are active). They still haven't tested the whole facility.
