Gov. Andy Beshear is requiring all state employees and visitors to state buildings to wear face coverings, even if they are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, which continues to surge in Kentucky.
Beshear said in a two-minute video that he took the action to protect state workers "and those they interact with." It takes effect Thursday, July 29.
The rule "came on the heels of a shift in guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which on Tuesday said everyone in the United States, including fully-vaccinated people, should resume wearing masks in public indoor settings in parts of the country where spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant is considered dangerously 'high' or 'substantial'," the Lexington Herald-Leader notes.
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| Dept. for Public Health map, adapted by Ky. Health News; click to enlarge |
Counties with rates more than double the statewide rate are Clay, 82.6; Jackson, 76.1; Floyd, 59.4; Laurel, 52.4; Muhlenberg, 49.5; Webster, 48.6; Letcher, 47.7; Hopkins, 45.7; Simpson, 44.6; and Whitley, 44.5. All but Simpson are in the state's eastern or western coalfields.
The state reported 1,693 new cases of the virus Wednesday, raising the daily average for the last seven days by 104, to 1,022. That's the highest it has been since March 2.
Hospitalizations for Covid-19 also jumped, rising to 571, almost 10% more than Tuesday. Intensive-care units has 185 of those patients, and 83 of them were on mechanical ventilation.
The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus rose for the 32nd day in a row, to 8.29%. The state reported two more Covid-19 deaths, raising the total to 7,325.
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