Kentucky will give $300M to local governments for coronavirus expenses

Louisville Courier Journal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky will have $300 million to distribute to local governments to reimburse them for costs of fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

The money comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that Congress passed. It can be used for, among other things, purchasing protective equipment for health and safety workers, expenses for disinfecting public spaces and for improvements needed for public employees to work from home.

Beshear said efforts by local governments, along with the state, have been crucial during the pandemic.

"It has been everybody on board," he said during his Wednesday evening briefing. "You do not have the success that we've had against COVID-19 without strong local leaders and the expenses that they put into it.

"… And I could not be prouder of their work. There haven't been Democrats or Republicans, just Americans."

Local governments may begin applying for money at 8 a.m. Thursday.

Beshear said population will be factored into the distribution.

Coronavirus Watch: Sign up for our new newsletter for a daily breakdown

Coronavirus tracker: How many coronavirus cases are in Kentucky? Where are they?

The state has started to relax restrictions on nonessential businesses this week, and Beshear has said testing will be a key part in moving that process forward.

Beshear said the state saw a significant increase in tests from Tuesday, with an additional 4,800 new tests raising the state's total to 158,677.

Beshear also announced 166 new cases of COVID-19, bringing Kentucky's total to 8,167 since the start of the pandemic. There were 10 more deaths, putting the state's total at 376.

The state's data showed a dramatic decrease in the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units, dropping from 269 to 98.

Beshear said some of that drop could come from flaws in the data collection, rather than patients leaving. He added that he hopes to improve that data collection going forward, but stressed the positives that come with a decrease.

Retail businesses could reopen Wednesday with limited capacity, and Beshear said the early indications showed the process was working well.

"People are really working and really trying hard, being really thoughtful about how they do it," he said. "This is how we do this right."

Beshear added that the state will want to see at least two weeks of data before considering any more reduced restrictions.

Louisville announces COVID-19 testing task force

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced eight new deaths from the coronavirus during his afternoon news conference, bringing the city's total to 38.

There were 38 new cases since Tuesday, he said, which brings the city's total confirmed cases to 2,105.

"For folks that think we are past this, I want this to be a real wakeup call," Fischer said. "Eight additional deaths in one day is a very, very tragic day for our community."

Fischer also announced a task force to lead the city's testing, which he hopes to increase in the coming weeks.

Bill Altman, a former Kindred Healthcare chief strategy officer and former chairman of the Louisville Metro Board of Health, will lead the task force.

Local hospitals and community health groups, including the University of Louisville and Norton hospitals, will assist the task force with "federally qualified partners." The task force will be funded mostly by the CARES Act.

Fischer added that the state's testing goal is 45,000 to 50,000 tests per week, which equals roughly 1,100 tests per day, focusing on high-risk groups.

Future efforts include contact tracing to track who has been exposed to the coronavirus and a partnership between U of L and the Metropolitan Sewer District to test the city's wastewater, the mayor said.

That testing could provide information on possible infection clusters in Louisville.

David Harten contributed to this story.

Matt Mencarini: 502-582-4221; mmencarini@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @MattMencarini. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today.