Kentucky passes 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths with 16 announced Wednesday
Emma AustinFRANKFORT, Ky. — Less than one week after Kentucky hit 50,000 COVID-19 cases, the state reached another sobering milestone: 1,000 deaths caused by the coronavirus.
Beshear announced 16 new COVID-19-related deaths Tuesday, bringing the state total to 1,004.
"Lives are on the line, and too many have been lost," Beshear said. "We absolutely have to do better."
Compared to most states, Kentucky has done well, Beshear said. Out of the seven states surrounding Kentucky, West Virginia is the lone state with fewer than 1,000 deaths. Indiana has reported 3,173 deaths to date.
Beshear ordered all flags on state buildings to be flown at half-staff Thursday and for the next week to recognize the Kentuckians lost to the virus.
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"Losing 1,000 people to something that didn't previously exist in a six-month period is hard, and it's something most of us have never experienced before," Beshear said.
The United States has seen over 6.3 million COVID-19 cases and at least 189,000 deaths since the country’s first case was confirmed in January.
Twenty deaths had been under review by Kentucky Tuesday to determine if they should be counted as a COVID-19-related death, and Beshear said some of them are still being reviewed and not included in Wednesday's count.
The 16 deaths announced Wednesday include:
- A 62-year-old man from Bell County
- A 61-year-old man from Bullett
- A 77-year-old man from Bullett
- A 92-year-old woman from Calloway
- A 94-year-old woman from Fayette
- A 76-year-old man from Garrett
- A 71-year-old man from Lincoln
- An 86-year-old man from Jefferson
- A 50-year-old man from Jefferson
- A 79-year-old man from Jefferson
- A 70-year-old woman from Jefferson
- A 66-year-old man from Jefferson
- A 90-year-old man from Owen
- An 84-year-old woman from Rowan
- An 87-year-old man from Scott
- An 81-year-old man from Scott
Beshear also announced 667 new COVID-19 cases in Kentucky during Wednesday's briefing, bringing the state's total to 53,977.
The White House's report this week listed 24 Kentucky counties in the "red zone," meaning they have a 10% positivity rate or higher. At the top of the list was Warren, about which Beshear said the White House has been "incredibly worried for numerous reasons about how the spread is there."
Other counties in the red zone include Madison, Pulaski, Calloway, Green, Nelson, Jackson, Todd, Henderson, Lewis, Rowan, Logan, Bell, Grayson, Simpson, Union, Harlan, Monroe, McCreary, Russell, Mason, Crittenden, Trigg and Estill.
To help control the pandemic moving into flu season, people should get a flu vaccination, Beshear said.
"If you do not get your flu shot and you get the flu, you will think you have COVID," he said. "If you get your flu shot and you get something that feels like a flu, maybe you do have COVID. Either way, you're going to be able to get better medical advice."
When questioned during the briefing about Bob Woodward's new book, which revealed recordings of conversations with Donald Trump in which the president said he chose to downplay the threat of the coronavirus, Beshear said he hadn't read any of the book and wouldn't comment on it.
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"I believe that we have had a good working relationship with the White House," Beshear said. "It doesn't mean I always agree with every decision they've made, but I do believe that we have had a positive working relationship."
Beshear will give an address to Kentucky at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and said he plans to talk about some of the state's successes during the pandemic as well as what it needs to do better.
Reach Emma Austin at eaustin@gannett.com or on Twitter at @emmacaustin. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: subscribe.courier-journal.com.