Covid-19 update: Lexington black and Hispanic populations hit hard with coronavirus; 7 women in prison file suit to be released

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

• The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky is asking a federal judge to release medically vulnerable inmates held at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women at Pewee Valley, where at least 11 inmates and three employees have tested positive for the virus. The 733-bed prison at the western tip of Shelby County houses 639 inmates; the lawsuit was filed on behalf of seven inmates, all of whom say they are medically compromised. Beshear's executive cabinet secretary, J. Michael Brown, said the state has begun testing all inmates and staff at the facility, following lessons it learned in the outbreak at the Green River Correctional Complex in Central City.
• Lexington's health department reported today that there have been 54 confirmed new cases since officials last reported new infections on Saturday, Jeremy Chisenhall reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. The department reports that 24% of Lexington's cases come from the city's Hispanic population, which makes up 7% of the city's population, and 28% are black, though African Americans are just 15% of the city's population. The story includes a news release about the virus in Spanish.
• The Herald-Leader talks to experts about the safety of camping while the virus is spreading. Campgrounds in Kentucky opened June 11. 
• More than 630,000 Kentuckians have diabetes, making them more vulnerable to severe complications and death from covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, Maridith Yahl reports for the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “It’s pretty clear that diabetes broadly is a risk factor based on the numbers we’re seeing,” Dana Howe, director of brand communications at Beyond Type 1, based in California, told Yahl. “We don’t know a lot about what that means for each individual, but I think it’s smart for everyone who’s impacted by diabetes to consider themselves high-risk.”  The article links to a website with recommendations about diabetes and the coronavirus. 
• While social distancing is important to decreasing the spread of the coronavirus, it can be particularly hard on those in recovery. UKNow offers tips for those struggling with recovery during covid-19, with a reminder that FindHelpNowKY.org is a great resource for those looking for treatment for substance use disorders. 
• Meatpacking plants, jails and prisons and nursing homes are driving the coronavirus outbreaks in rural conmmunities, Liam Niemeyer reports for Resource. 
• "A corporate wellness director, an anonymous donor, a fishing tournament weigh-in trailer, and an empty church with a large parking lot – not exactly what you’d think would make a rural Covid-19 testing site," Liz Carey reports for the Daily Yonder about a rural town in Pauducah thought "outside the box to create a free coronavirus testing site in their town. 
• Hospitalizations were six times higher and deaths were 12 times higher for covid-19 patients with reported underlying conditions,with the most frequently reported conditions being cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic lung disease, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. 
• The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has revoked the emergency authorization that allowed chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulfate to be used to treat certain hospitalized covid-19 patients when a clinical trial was unavailable. The drugs have long been approved to treat or prevent malaria, and some autoimmune conditions. An FDA official says in the release that clinical trials to evaluate the potential benefit of these drugs to treat or prevent covid-19 will continue. Click here for a list of frequently asked questions about this revocation. Click here for a Medpage Today story about the revocation. 
• A modeling study shows that use of face masks may have prevented tens of thousands covid-19 infections in New York and Italy after both areas implemented public policies to wear them, Medpage Today reports. 
• The New York Times reports on how 132 epidemiologists are deciding when to send their children to school. It found that 70% of them said they would do so either right now, later this summer or in the fall, others said they would wait for a vaccine.