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Gov. Beshear Asks Communities, Kentuckians in Red Zones to Prepare Weekly COVID-19 Reduction Plan

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​​​​​​​Each Thursday’s incidence rate map published on kycovid19.ky.govdetermines red zone counties for the following week

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 27, 2020) – On Tuesday, the Governor said that community, long-term care and school leaders and administrators, as well as Kentucky families in red zone counties, should prepare a weekly COVID-19 reduction plan based on each Thursday’s incidence rate map.

Thursday’s red zone map, published on kycovid19.ky.gov, provides communities and families time to plan and accommodate the new red zone reduction recommendations and other existing guidance, including for schools, the following week (Monday through Sunday).

The Governor said schools already follow the Thursday map for when a county enters the red zone.

“If you’re in a red county, anything you don’t need to do, don’t. Stay home as much as possible,” Gov. Beshear said. “Schools shouldn’t be the only ones that are taking these steps. When you coordinate these two responses, the schools and the community together, we can get the best result.”

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

  • New cases today: 1,786
  • New deaths today: 18
  • Positivity rate: 5.97%
  • Total deaths: 1,428
  • Currently hospitalized: 913
  • Currently in ICU: 233
  • Currently on ventilator: 115

The top counties with the most positive cases today are: Jefferson, Fayette, Warren, Kenton, Hardin and Pike. A list of today’s red counties can be found here.

Those reported lost to the virus today include a 99-year-old woman from Christian County; a 79-year-old woman from Henderson County; a 70-year-old woman from Hopkins County; three women, ages 79, 82 and 86, and five men, ages 62, 62, 70, 88 and 93, from Jefferson County; two men, ages 96 and 97, from Jessamine County; a 76-year-old man from Nicholas County; a 72-year-old man from Ohio County; two women, ages 77 and 91, from Scott County; and a 72-year-old woman from Wayne County.

Gov. Beshear reminds Kentuckians to light their homes and businesses up green to show compassion for those lost to COVID-19.

Louisville Firefighter’s COVID-19 Battle Shows Importance of Masks
Today, Kelly Alexander, the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s chief of staff, spoke about her 40-year-old husband Josh’s harrowing battle with COVID-19. Prior to COVID-19, Josh was extremely healthy and loved hiking and the outdoors. With COVID-19, he couldn’t even talk without being short of breath or suffering from a coughing attack. Thankfully, Josh is now out of the hospital and at home, but he is not out of the woods yet. He still is fighting pneumonia in both lungs.

“The coronavirus affects everyone differently. But one thing is certain. This is not something you want to spread to others and it is not something you want to watch your loved ones suffer from,” said Alexander. “These are not just numbers. These are people. These are husbands, mothers, fathers, family, friends, and neighbors.”

Due to work schedules, Alexander was not exposed and has been away from her home since early in October.

Corrections Update
J. Michael Brown, secretary of the Executive Cabinet, reminded Kentuckians that from the outset of the pandemic, all correctional facilities enhanced sanitation and hygiene, suspended visitation to keep staff and inmates safe and initiated staff screening for COVID-19 symptoms every day upon entry. Inmates were provided with additional free phone calls and emails to keep them connected to family and friends. He also shared that cloth masks for inmates and staff were provided in early April and have been supplemented to ensure the inmates have a fresh one available at all times. When a positive staff or inmate case has occurred, the correctional facility has worked with the Kentucky Department for Public Health to conduct contact tracing, run additional tests and separate the prison population into distinct housing units if necessary.

Currently, there are 263 active inmate cases and 20 active staff cases in state prisons. There have been 1,164 total inmate cases and 194 total staff cases; sadly, 13 inmates and two staffers have died of COVID-19.

Remembrance
Today, Gov. Beshear recognized Bobby Rorer, a husband, father, grandfather and Kentucky World War II veteran tragically lost to COVID-19. Bobby was one of the residents at the Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore, where he passed away separated from his family.

“Bobby was a hero to our people, joining the army at just 16 years old after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He never met a stranger. He loved getting out, meeting new people and sharing stories. So much so that after retiring from a long career in government and volunteerism, Bobby could often be found at Walmart daily where he would go to just sit and talk to people. They even offered him a greeter position,” said Gov. Beshear. “Most of all, he will be missed by his wife Dana, whose name he called during his final days. Dana, we are praying for your entire family.”

Fast 4
Today, Rocky Adkins, senior advisor to Gov. Beshear, highlighted $6.6 million in Appalachian Regional Commission grants for 13 projects in central and eastern Kentucky communities that will update infrastructure, bolster education, spur economic development and diversification, improve workforce training, improve health care and build a better Kentucky.

Adkins also celebrated nearly $13 million in funding from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to 14 cities and 29 county fiscal courts. The awards will fund 196 projects repairing and improving streets and roads across the commonwealth. To learn more about these two funding announcements, see the full releases hereand here.

Next, Adkins shared that AgriTech company AppHarvest has begun construction on its third high-tech greenhouse in Central Appalachia, this time in Berea. The project will create 60-full time jobs. He also noted that UPS is re-opening its facility in Harlan County, which will bring back 20 jobs that left the county in 2016.

Finally, Adkins implored Kentuckians to wear masks around people from outside their household, including while they vote. Masks are more crucial than ever as the weather gets colder and families spend more time indoors. Wearing a mask is the number one thing people can do to save lives and to get their counties out of the red zone.

“It’s your time to have your voice. It’s your time to play your part by voting,” said Adkins. “And put your mask on while doing it. Let’s whip this terrible virus.”

More Information
To view the full daily report, incidence rate map, testing locations, long term-care and other congregate facilities update, school reports, the White House Coronavirus Task Force reports for Kentucky and other key guidance visit, kycovid19.ky.gov.

Kentuckians can also access translated COVID-19 information and summaries of the Governor’s news conferences at teamkentuckytranslations.com.

Ludora Feese Perkins

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Ludora Feese Perkins, of Knifley, died October 27, 2020, of natural causes exacerbated by lingering effects of COVID-19.

Ludora was born October 22, 1925, to James Rufus and Villa Lee Dunbar Feese of Adair County, Kentucky. She attended elementary and high school in Knifley and continued her education at Campbellsville College. After earning an associate’s degree, she taught in a one-room school for several years.

Ludora married William Edward Perkins of Knifley in 1949 and had four children: Lana Dale, Edwina, Kimberly, and Jennifer Clare. As she raised her children, she worked on the family’s farm and also worked as an aide for Head Start, as a substitute teacher at Knifley Grade Center, and as a factory worker at Union Underwear in Campbellsville.

Learning, teaching, singing and travel were Ludora’s passions. In the late 1970s, Ludora committed to returning to the classroom. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Campbellsville College in 1982, substitute-taught in Adair and Taylor County elementary schools for two years, and reached her goal of teaching full time at Knifley Grade Center in the mid-1980s. As she taught eighth grade over the next two decades, she lived a mantra of “learn something new every day” by continuing her education to master’s and eventually Rank I level. She retired from teaching in 2001.

She served as song leader at Plum Point Baptist Church for many years and loved gospel music.

Ludora began leading bus tours with a member of her church, Plum Point Baptist Church, in the 1990s. The early trips led her to create “Plum Point Young at Heart,” an informal name for the group tours she coordinated annually. She loved planning each year’s new trip; with daughter Kimberly and sister Laverne as assistants, she helped church and community members enjoy sites across the country. Her favorite destinations included New York City, Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Chicago, and Virginia Beach. These bus trips were a highlight of her later years, and community members still talk about these trips as great memories.

Ludora is survived by the following:

  • Four daughters: Lana Dale Poppe (husband Paul Poppe), RVers; Edwina Gonzalez, of Carmel, California; Kimberly Barbee, of Campbellsville; and Jennifer Perkins (wife Gretchen Bolton), of Berea
  • One brother and two sisters: Mickey Feese (wife Carol) of Cane Valley, Laverne Kennon (husband Bob) of Campbellsville, and Betty Mae White (husband David) of Campbellsville
  • Sister-in-law: Norene Feese of Knifley
  • Many nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends

In addition to her parents, Ludora was preceded in death by her husband, William Edward Perkins; two brothers and six sisters—Clement Heistand Feese, George Cyrus Feese, Mattie Lee Feese, Rosa Lillian Feese, Euline Feese, Jeraldene Tucker, Maudye Hovious, and Dellie Johnson; and a son-in-law, Michael Barbee.

Funeral services will be held privately for family only. Burial will follow in Dunbar Family Cemetery.

Memorials are requested to be in the form of donation of Gideon Bibles or to the Plum Point Coffee Can Fund. These may be left at the funeral home.

Grissom-Martin Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. www.grissommartin.com

LCDHD reports 13 new cases in Adair on Monday

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Monday, Oct. 26, 2020
From Lake Cumberland District Health Department:

Statewide Testing Positivity Rate: 5.84%.

Deaths: We are sad to report 1 new deaths today. We have experienced a total of 81 deaths resulting in a 1.97% mortality rate (about 1 in 51) among known cases. This compares with a 1.44% mortality rate at the state level, and a 2.6% morality rate at the national level. Our hearts and prayers go out to all the families and friends who have lost loved ones.

Hospitalizations: We presently have 29 cases in the hospital. This is 3 less than yesterday. The most hospitalizations we have had at any one time was 35 on 10/20/2020. We have had a total of 323 hospitalizations resulting in a 7.84% hospitalization rate (about 1 in 13) among known cases. The state hospitalization rate is 7.05%. The latest state data shows that 70.05% of ICU beds and 27.73% of ventilator capacity are being utilized.

Total (Cumulative) Cases: The Lake Cumberland District has experienced a total of 4,122 cases since the onset of the outbreak. This means that 1.97% of our total population have been a confirmed case. However, we do not know how many additional people may have had COVID-19 and were either asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic and never tested.

Released (Not contagious) Cases: We released 58 cases today from isolation. Released cases include: Adair: 11; Casey: 3; Clinton: 10; Cumberland: 5; Green: 3; McCreary: 3; Russell: 7; Taylor: 10; and, Wayne: 6. In all, we have released 85.9% of our total cases.

Active (Current) Cases: We released 4 more cases today than we added new cases. Taking all things into account, this leaves us with 500 active cases in our district across all 10 of our district’s 10 counties. On 10/24/2020 we were at our peak number of active cases, 505.

Where are Cases Tied to: The most common areas to where we are seeing cases tied are (in descending order): Businesses, Schools, Places of Worship, and Family.

New Cases: We report that our total case count has increased by 55 today: Adair: 13; Casey: 3; Clinton: 6; Cumberland: 6; Green: 3; McCreary: 3; Pulaski: 7; Russell: 2; Taylor: 5; and, Wayne: 7. Our current new case growth rate is: 1.016. This means our total case count is projected to double every 44.67 days. The most new cases we ever added in a single day was on 10/22/2020 when we added 80 cases. Today’s new cases include:

Adair: A 62-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 77-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 63-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 71-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 46-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 22-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 70-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 48-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 60-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 42-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 62-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 52-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Adair: A 59-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Casey: A 9-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Casey: A 74-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Casey: A 71-year-old male who is hospitalized, still symptomatic
Clinton: A 55-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Clinton: A 52-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Clinton: A 21-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Clinton: A 51-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Clinton: A 33-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Clinton: A 83-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Cumberland: A 24-year-old male who is self-isolated, asymptomatic
Cumberland: A 44-year-old female who is self-isolated, asymptomatic
Cumberland: A 47-year-old male who is released, unknown
Cumberland: A 18-year-old male who is released, asymptomatic
Cumberland: A 49-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Cumberland: A 28-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Green: A 25-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Green: A 15-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Green: A 15-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
McCreary: A 32-year-old male who is self-isolated, asymptomatic
McCreary: A 40-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
McCreary: A 59-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Pulaski: A 31-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Pulaski: A 49-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Pulaski: A 39-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Pulaski: A 63-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Pulaski: A 50-year-old female who is self-isolated, asymptomatic
Pulaski: A 21-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Pulaski: A 48-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Russell: A 84-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Russell: A 48-year-old male who is self-isolated, asymptomatic
Taylor: A 43-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Taylor: A 50-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Taylor: A 47-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Taylor: A 35-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Taylor: A 18-year-old male who is self-isolated, asymptomatic
Wayne: A 35-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Wayne: A 36-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Wayne: A 32-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Wayne: A 51-year-old male who is self-isolated, asymptomatic
Wayne: A 74-year-old male who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Wayne: A 7-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic
Wayne: A 19-year-old female who is self-isolated, still symptomatic

The death we report today is a 72-year-old female from Wayne who had been hospitalized. Our local mortality rate remains high compared to the statewide mortality rate.

Today some new recommendations came out from the Governor’s Office for counties in the “red-critical” range of community-spread. These include:

• Employers allow employees to work from home when possible
• Non-critical government offices to operate virtually
• Reduce in-person shopping; order online or curbside pickup
• Order take-out; avoid dining in restaurants or bars
• Prioritize businesses that follow and enforce mask mandate and other guidelines
• Reschedule, postpone, or cancel public and private events
• Do not host or attend gatherings of any size
• Avoid non-essential activities outside your home
• Reduce overall activity and contracts, and follow existing guidance, including 10 steps to defeat COVID-19.
Seven of our counties are in the “red-critical” range: Adair, Clinton, Cumberland, Green, Russell, Taylor, and Wayne. The other 3 are in the “orange-accelerated” range of community-spread, Casey, McCreary, and Pulaski.

We are happy we released 4 more cases today than we added new one. We are also pleased our hospitalizations dropped by 3.

Please, let’s all continue to do our part in slowing the spread of COVID-19 by wearing our face coverings, avoiding crowds (especially in confined spaces), social distancing when around others, increasing our hand hygiene, increasing our general sanitation, and by avoiding the touching of our faces.

The Lake Cumberland area has experienced 4,122 cumulative confirmed cases and there have been 98,079 confirmed COVID-19 cases across all 120 Kentucky Counties as of today (this includes 97,866 statewide plus 213 recently reported cases in Lake Cumberland not in the Governor’s/Department for Public Health’s daily report). Regardless of the confirmed case count for any Lake Cumberland County, we believe COVID-19 to be widespread. The LCDHD is working tirelessly, including nights and weekends, to identify and contact all those with whom any positive case may have come into close contact, and to follow-up daily with positive cases. Additionally, we are striving diligently to follow-up on business-related complaints regarding noncompliance with the Governor’s Executive Orders. We are also working with any community partner that requests assistance for prevention or post-exposure planning/response.

https://www.lcdhd.org/2020/10/26/public-information-brief-10-26-20/