FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Senior centers across Kentucky were urged to temporarily close for in-person activities and most court proceedings were postponed for nearly a month as the state’s top leaders took more steps Friday to try to control the spread of the new coronavirus.
Gov. Andy Beshear recommended the temporary closure of senior centers to protect elderly residents from the virus, but said efforts are underway to ensure they continue receiving meals provided by the centers.
Nearly 200 senior centers prepare about 8,000 meals daily across Kentucky.
“We’re going to do everything we can to either deliver them at home to these seniors who rely on them or through drive-thru meals at senior centers,” the governor told reporters.
Beshear previously said that Kentucky’s nursing homes should severely restrict visitors to combat coronavirus from spreading to the elderly.
At least 14 people in Kentucky have tested positive for coronavirus, Beshear said Friday evening. New cases include one from Montgomery County, about 40 miles (64 kilomters) east of Lexington. Previous confirmed cases were in Harrison, Fayette and Jefferson counties.
Meanwhile, the state’s first confirmed coronavirus patient was discharged from the hospital. Beshear said her recovery was encouraging and stressed there should be no stigma for former patients.
“We have to react with compassion when someone does have the coronavirus. and once they’re through it and out of it, we ought to be treating them the same as any other individual,” he 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.
The state’s court system took steps Friday to halt most proceedings in response to the virus.
An order signed by Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. canceled most in-person appearances for civil and criminal cases from Monday to April 10. Minton listed several exceptions, including domestic violence hearings and emergency custody hearings.
All civil trials, hearings and motions will be rescheduled, and “reasonable attempts” should be made to reschedule criminal trials, the order said.
In another development Friday, Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance will start providing wage-replacement benefits for emergency first responders and medical personnel in self-isolation due to their increased risk of exposure to the virus, Beshear said.
“Some of them now are in self-isolation because they came to work to do their job,” the governor said. “We are going to make sure that they’re not going to lose money because of that. We’re going to step up and do the right thing.”
Also in response to the virus, state boards and commissions are being asked to cancel in-person meetings and instead rely on videoconferencing, Beshear said. Those boards will be expected to provide a video link for public access to the meetings, he said.
The state’s open meetings law was updated in 2018 to allow compliance with the statute through video teleconferencing, the governor said.
“We believe that this is a plan that complies with the Open Meetings Act and is the very best we can do during the course of this coronavirus outbreak to make sure we can continue the work that needs to be done as we move forward,” he said.
Beshear has urged people to follow social-distancing practices as a way to help combat the virus, but on Friday he said that doesn’t mean going into isolation for people who are healthy.
“You should continue to get outside,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that you close down your life and you hunker down in your home. It’s just that you practice good hygiene, that you avoid crowds, you stay 6 feet apart from folks as much as you can.”
Beshear said some snags have developed in efforts to bring home 16 Kentucky residents who were on a cruise ship that had a cluster of coronavirus cases. The Kentuckians are at two Air Force bases. The governor said he’ll do everything he can to bring them home.
“These folks have been gone for far too long,” he said.
The Kentuckians have all tested negative for the virus, the governor has said. The plan has been to return them to Kentucky and have them go into self-isolation.
The Democratic governor has taken a number of aggressive steps in response to the virus.
On Thursday, he urged Kentucky’s K-12 schools, both public and private, to cease in-person classes for the next two weeks, starting Monday. Beshear said Friday he was informed that all 172 school districts have complied with his request and will close for at least two weeks.
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People can visit kycovid19.ky.gov and www.cdc.gov/coronavirus for up-to-date information.
People can call the state coronavirus hotline - 1-800-722-5725 - for advice about when to seek medical treatment.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
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