FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky’s governor on Friday highlighted his own brush with the coronavirus to stress the importance of wearing a mask to combat its spread as the state’s surging outbreak continues.
Gov. Andy Beshear reported 1,457 new confirmed virus cases - the state’s third-highest daily total since the pandemic began - and 16 more virus-related deaths.
Beshear’s office said the governor will finish his quarantine Saturday, two weeks after riding in a vehicle with a member of his security detail who later tested positive for COVID-19.
“I’ve now tested negative four straight times after sitting in a passenger seat next to somebody driving who was infectious with COVID,” Beshear said in a social media update Friday. “I was wearing a mask. He was wearing a mask. That shows you that it works.”
Beshear’s wife, Britainy, and their two children also consistently tested negative while in quarantine at the governor’s mansion.
Beshear said Thursday that his security sidekick still has some symptoms but is “going to be OK.”
“He is still working on beating this virus, which I know he will,” the governor said. “But I think that says to all of us that it’s a powerful virus, and no matter how strong you are it can potentially cause complications and/or keep you out of work.”
The Democratic governor has promised stricter enforcement of his statewide mask mandate but has urged Kentuckians to take the initiative to wear facial coverings and follow other health guidelines.
The coronavirus surge continued this week, when Kentucky recorded three of its five highest totals for daily confirmed cases, the governor said. The Bluegrass State has surpassed 93,740 COVID-19 cases, and its virus-related death count approached 1,400.
The latest Kentucky deaths included two women aged 101 and 102.
Beshear reported that 819 people are hospitalized in Kentucky because of the virus, including 205 in intensive care. Hospitalizations have risen along with the number of virus patients in ICU.
“This virus is everywhere,” Beshear said. “It is in your community. We need every community doing what it takes to defeat it. Because when we have a lot of cases, it creates a lot of death.”
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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