Universities work on antibody tests; UK furloughs 1,700; Target workers in Lexington plan sickout to protest unsafe conditions

As news develops about the coronavirus and its covid-19 disease, this item will be updated. Official state guidance is at kycovid19.ky.gov.

• Researchers at the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville are working on rolling out coronavirus-antibody blood tests for clinical trials, Alex Acqisto reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Researchers say they hope to determine who is immune to the virus as well as to locate plasma donors, which is used to help treat covid-19 patients.
• UK announced that it is furloughing 1,700 workers, 1,500 of them in UK HealthCare, but hopes the furloughs will be short as hospitals are allowed to resume elective procedures.
• Target workers are planning a sickout in protest of unsafe work conditions during then pandemic, Dawson White reports for the Herald-Leader.  “At Target the foot traffic and guest behavior have been atrocious, putting us at needless risk when greater safety measures are required to ensure social distancing,” the group wrote online. “Workers nor guests have been required to wear masks.”
• Andrew Wolfson reports in detail for the Louisville Courier Journal about the poor conditions at  Green River Correctional Complex in Central City, where 31 inmates have tested positive for the virus. Five have been hospitalized and one has died.