A record number of deaths, coronavirus cases in Kentucky foretell worse to come

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The coronavirus pandemic took an exceptionally deadly toll Tuesday, claiming seven more lives across Kentucky and infecting at least 114 more people.

Both numbers set single-day records, with Gov. Andy Beshear telling Kentuckians that "we knew this was coming."

To date, Kentucky has reported 591 positive cases and 18 deaths, with much more to come, Beshear warned.

"And that's going to be hard," he said Tuesday at his daily briefing.

"But that's what this virus is. And that is why we're working so hard, so hard, to reduce our number of contacts with people around us."

Federal public health officials echoed Beshear's sentiments Tuesday, predicting that 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could die of the virus by the end of the year.

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Without intervention, including social distancing orders, as many 2.2 million could have died, said Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator. 

Just a few days ago, President Donald Trump had signaled the country could get back to normal by Easter. But he has abandoned that timeline, instead warning Americans that April likely will be grim.

“We are going to go through a very tough two weeks,” Trump said during his afternoon briefing. “This is going to be a very, very painful two weeks."

But for parts of Kentucky on Tuesday, it was already grim.

The deaths reported Tuesday from COVID-19 were in Fayette, Bullitt and Jefferson counties.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced that four Jefferson County residents had died, taking the metro's total to seven.

The bulk of the new cases of infection were reported in Kentucky's urban centers, with 58 more people infected in Jefferson County and 17 in Fayette County.

Other cases were found in 28 counties, including eight that had not yet reported any. Kentucky has 120 counties. 

"This just says to everybody out there that we’ve got to treat every community like the coronavirus is already there," Beshear said.

Kentucky coronavirus live updates:Follow along for the latest news 

There's no sign the virus will fade anytime soon, federal officials said.

Birx said that based on her team's modeling, which "assumes full mitigation" practices, the coronavirus should begin receding by July 1.

“Officials are depending on Americans to do everything they can,” she said.

Vice President Mike Pence added Tuesday that the administration has urged governors to use the National Guard in their states to help move medical supplies from warehouses to hospitals.

In other regional developments:

Food workers eligible for child care services

Grocery store workers on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak in Kentucky will now be eligible for the state's child care services, Beshear announced Tuesday. 

"We need our grocery store workers," the governor said. "We want to thank them for what they're doing."

Some states, including Minnesota and Vermont, had classified those employees as "essential," making them eligible for benefits that health care workers, police and other personnel can receive. 

But in Kentucky, they were not initially included in the child care services established by Beshear's team in mid-March.

Read more:Grocery store workers now included in Kentucky's child care services 

Residents tracked by ankle monitors after refusing to isolate

A Louisville judge has issued ankle monitors commonly used for home incarceration to two residents who had refused to isolate at the request of local health officials.

Circuit Judge Charles Cunningham said he approved the devices Friday on behalf of the city's health and police departments, which had learned that the residents continued to go out in public against medical advice.

Cunningham said the residents are family members who live together and that one had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Health officials requested the monitors after learning that one individual was "walking around" and that the other, based on a phone call, was thought to be out of the house, he said.

"The home incarceration program is well-suited for this," said Amy Hess, the city's chief of public services, which includes oversight of Metro Corrections and Emergency Services.

"It provides us with the proper amount of distancing. We can monitor activity after (the device) gets affixed to them … to make sure they're not further affecting the community. We would prefer not to have to do it at all."

Kentucky coronavirus map:How many cases are in Kentucky? Where are they?

GE Appliances' union president quarantined

The president of the union that represents nearly 4,000 workers at GE Appliances has been placed in quarantine after displaying symptoms of the coronavirus.

In a memo obtained by The Courier Journal, Dino Driskell wrote to members of IUE-CWA Local 83-761 that he has "had a cough for the last few days and started running a fever yesterday."

Driskell told The Courier Journal he went to work Monday but began feeling feverish that evening and did not go to work Tuesday.

GE Appliance Park reopened Monday after closing for one week because of the pandemic.

Though employees were promised the facility would be cleaned and that social distancing measures would be implemented, several told The Courier Journal that grime still covered parts of several buildings and that some employees worked within 6 feet of one another.

Fischer said Tuesday that the city's health department sent two inspectors to the facility that afternoon and that they would have a report soon.

"GE is classified as an essential business by the state of Kentucky and the Department of Homeland Security, so that's why they're able to operate right now," Fischer said. "Obviously, the plant has to be in the proper condition, from a social distancing standpoint."

Full story:GE Appliances' union president quarantined as he awaits virus test results

McConnell says impeachment slowed coronavirus response

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the impeachment trial of Trump slowed his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

"It came up while we were tied down in the impeachment trial," McConnell told radio host Hugh Hewitt. "And I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment."

The coronavirus bubbled up in the Hubei province of China in the last months of 2019 and gained widespread attention heading into 2020.

That occurred around the same time as Trump's impeachment process, with the House of Representatives passing the articles in mid-December and Trump being acquitted by the Senate in early February.

McConnell:Trump impeachment 'diverted the attention of the government' from virus

Ford extends shutdown indefinitely

Ford Motor Co. will indefinitely extend the shutdown of all of its North American plants, including two in Louisville, the car manufacturer announced Tuesday.

The shutdown, which originally began March 20, was set to be lifted April 14 at several "key North American plants," such as the Kentucky Truck Plant.

Courier Journal reporters Ben Tobin, Darcy Costello, David Kim, Phillip Bailey and Sarah Ladd and USA TODAY reporter John Fritze contributed to this story. Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at bloosemore@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4646 or on Twitter @bloosemore. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/baileyl.

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