FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky’s schools should close for at least two weeks, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday in ramping up the state’s efforts to contain the new coronavirus.
His recommendation wasn’t a mandate but he strongly urged leaders of K-12 schools - both public and private - to cease in-person classes for the next two weeks, starting Monday. Kentucky has about 650,000 public school students at 1,466 schools.
“It is a big but necessary step,” the governor said at an evening media briefing.
Several districts had already closed classes in response to the virus. Schools have been closed this week in Harrison County, where five residents tested positive for coronavirus.
Many districts have plans in place to provide learning opportunities for students while they’re at home. Other districts are expected to seek state approval to offer such instruction.
The state’s interim education commissioner, Kevin Brown, said he strongly supports the governor’s recommendation that schools close in response to the virus.
Beshear recently asked school districts to develop plans to allow schools to close on short notice if necessary. He has endorsed legislation to help cushion districts from potentially long closures. The bill would add more days that districts wouldn’t have to make up due to closures, he said.
At least eight cases of infection with the virus have been diagnosed in Kentucky. Officials indicated two more positive cases were identified Thursday, which would raise the total to 10, Beshear said.
For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, but for a few people, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia. More than 120,000 people have been infected worldwide, with more than 4,700 deaths, but the vast majority recover within weeks. Across the U.S., cases now number more than 1,300.
Meanwhile, even basketball, bourbon and horse racing - three Kentucky staples - weren’t immune to the fallout from the new coronavirus Thursday. And state lawmakers decided not to meet on Friday or next Monday to allow officials to “evaluate safety procedures” at the Capitol complex. Their session is expected to resume Tuesday.
State high school basketball tournaments were postponed and upcoming tours at some bourbon distilleries were being suspended temporarily. Horse tracks said races would run without spectators.
Beshear has urged people to avoid large crowds in an effort to mitigate spread of the virus. The high school basketball tournaments are big draws in this basketball-loving state.
The girls’ state tournament, already under way, was cut short and next week’s boys’ tournament also was postponed indefinitely by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.
“The association will try and seek options for rescheduling later in the spring if at all possible, but not until after we have received collaborative approval from our governor’s office, the commissioner of public health and the Kentucky Department of Education,” the KHSAA said in a statement.
Showing the fluidity of the situation, the governing body for Kentucky high school athletics initially said Thursday that it would place “an extreme limit” on fans attending the games.
That soon changed to postponement. In its followup announcement to postpone the games, the group said : “Our intention was to attempt to complete this first tournament with restrictions, however, this does not appear to be a wise option at this time and is not in the best interest of the student-athletes and the thousands of individuals who attend these events.”
Meanwhile, such spirits producers as Beam Suntory and Brown-Forman said upcoming tours would be suspended temporarily at their visitor locations. Bourbon tourism has become big business in Kentucky, which produces 95% of the world’s bourbon.
Beam Suntory said tours would be suspended starting Monday at its Jim Beam American Stillhouse and Maker’s Mark Distillery in Kentucky. Brown-Forman said tours would halt temporarily starting Sunday at its Old Forester and Woodford Reserve distilleries.
At Keeneland, the spring thoroughbred racing meet will open April 2 without spectators, the Lexington track said. A limited number of credentials will be provided to those “directly connected” to horses running at the track, it said. The meet is seen by many as a rite of spring in the bluegrass state. The track said it will consider reopening the track to spectators on April 15, saying it will work with government and health officials.
All remaining races at Turfway Park’s current meet in northern Kentucky will be spectator-free. Only essential staff, horsemen, owners, limited friends and family and media will attend.
In another development, Beshear said Thursday that 16 Kentucky residents were on the cruise ship that was forced to idle for days off the California coast because of a cluster of coronavirus cases.
The Kentuckians have all tested negative for the virus, the governor said. They’re being returned to Kentucky and will go into self-isolation, he said.
“We want to return them with their families and get them back to home as safely and quickly as we can,” said Dr. Steven Stack, the state’s public health commissioner.
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