LOUISVILLE, Ky (AP) - Kentuckians should avoid large Thanksgiving gatherings in order to protect fellow family and community members, Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday, warning that a negative test was not enough to guarantee a safe holiday.
The Democratic governor said he was concerned that many people, based on a negative test result, will will engage in activities that could create spreader events in every community across Kentucky.
“So please keep your Thanksgiving celebration as small as you can,” he said. “That’ll make sure that your extended family are around to celebrate Christmas and to celebrate the holidays next year.”
Kentucky reported 2,690 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 17 virus-related deaths Tuesday. Some 1,658 Kentuckians are hospitalized, up 85 from Monday.
Beshear’s virus-related mandates have continued to draw legal challenges from schools, businesses, and individuals. Two families filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday, seeking to stop orders limiting indoor gatherings to no more than eight people from two different households and temporarily banning in-person classes, news outlets reported. In a separate court case, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron joined a Christian school on Nov. 20 in filing a federal lawsuit that seeks a statewide temporary restraining order against a new rule that suspends in-person classes in private and public schools.
The governor defended the new restrictions, citing a recent ruling by Kentucky’s Supreme Court that upheld his authority to issue coronavirus-related mandates.
“I know that there are some attorneys out there that just itch for fights or want to make the news. But it’s dumb. And we don’t need to be having these types of distractions with what we’re trying to do to save lives,” Beshear added.
Hospitals throughout the state continue to respond to the surge in cases. A University of Kentucky Hospital said Tuesday that it will close five of its operating rooms on Monday to increase capacity for COVID patients. The announcement comes roughly a week after the CEO of the Pikeville Medical Center, a hospital located in rural eastern Kentucky, warned that the hospital was nearing ICU capacity and at risk of forgoing elective procedures.
All but four of Kentucky’s 120 counties are reported to be in the red zone - the most serious category for COVID-19 incidence rates. People in those counties are asked to follow stricter recommended guidelines to contain the virus.
The state’s test positivity rate is 8.82%, down slightly from Monday. The positivity rate is an indicator of the extent of the spread of the virus, according to the World Health Organization. If the rate is less than 5% for two weeks and testing is widespread, the virus is considered under control.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal. The vast majority of people recover.
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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/virus-outbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
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Hudspeth Blackburn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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