Name: COVID-19 news roundup: Cases spike, but Beshear stays the course on reopening economy
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COVID-19 news roundup: Cases spike, but Beshear stays the course on reopening economy

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Louisville Courier JournalView CommentsLOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky officials continue to push forward on plans to gradually ease restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus — even as the commonwealth saw its largest single-day tally of new cases&nbsp;with 625 people infected.Gov. Andy Beshear said almost half of those new cases — 309 — came from mass testing of inmates and staff at the Green River Correctional Center, which, along with nursing homes, has been a hot spot for the virus."It's a dangerous world out there right now that we have to be careful in the decisions that we make," Beshear said.The Western Kentucky prison based on their condition&nbsp;in an attempt to prevent further spread of the virus that so far has killed three inmates.[This story is being provided for free to our readers during the coronavirus outbreak. Consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to The Courier Journal at .]&nbsp;The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky said the state should have acted sooner."While it is a positive step that the Department of Corrections will finally medically isolate people who test positive for COVID-19, had DOC taken this very reasonable measure weeks ago, Green River may not be facing such a serious outbreak," Aaron Tucek, an attorney with the ACLU of Kentucky, said in a statement.One of those inmates was among the 14 new virus-related deaths reported Tuesday, pushing Kentucky's death toll to 275.Those new deaths also included&nbsp;a 35-year-old Jefferson County man believed to be the in the commonwealth."The loss of these 14 is a loss to all of us," said Beshear, who donned a mask in between trips to the podium to speak. "And we're getting to the point where just about everybody knows somebody or has a connection to somebody that we've lost."Despite Tuesday's grim numbers, Beshear and health commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said the rate of new virus cases continues to plateau.And with drastically improved testing capacity across the commonwealth and a goal of ramping up testing at long-term care facilities, Kentucky will forge ahead with plans to reopen the economy."When we say that we have to keep up a number of these initiatives to maintain social distancing, to use masks … we have to do these social distancing steps because were are seeing the disease very active," Stack said. "It has not disappeared."Kentucky coronavirus updates:Across the river in Indiana, where, just over 1,200 people have died from complications of the virus and about 21,000 confirmed cases have been reported.Meanwhile, Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher hosted a virtual town hall on Facebook on Tuesday morning to discuss public safety with Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad and the city's chief of public services, Amy Hess.Among the topics were the rise in positive COVID-19 cases among staff at the city's jail: 16 Metro Corrections officers have tested positive, .Only 16% of corrections staff have received a coronavirus test.So far, there have been no confirmed cases among the 131 inmates who have been tested for the virus, though officials said they hope to "expedite the testing process."Case tracker:Beshear also said Tuesday that he expected to make "a few tweaks" to his executive order on interstate travel restrictions, "did not pass constitutional muster."In his order, U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman wrote that “minor amendments to the regulations might alleviate the problems.” As an example, he mentioned how the Ohio travel regulations restrict travel to that state by a person who intends to stay in the state for at least 24 hours.Beshear said his administration would make the tweaks Wednesday, and he hopes people do not travel out of the state.“For me, it's never been about lawsuits or court challenges,” Beshear said. “It's about doing everything I can to protect you and making sure that that sacrifice that you have made is not frustrated by somebody coming in from a hot spot, and ultimately spreading it, causing harm to your family and your friends.”The White House coronavirus task force could disband by early June, Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday.Addressing reporters at a White House briefing, Pence said the United States could be "in a very different place" by late May and early June, meaning it could be time for federal agencies to resume management of the government's pandemic response.Pence’s comments came as an Associated Press analysis found infection rates rising even as states start to lift their lockdowns.The vice president characterized the discussions as preliminary.Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force coordinator, says the federal government will still keep a close eye on the data if the task force disbands.In politics:U.S. Sen. Rand Paul to&nbsp;a GOP Senate lunch Tuesday, saying he had&nbsp;already tested positive for the novel coronavirus&nbsp;and therefore has immunity.Multiple news outlets reported on the Kentucky Republican's comments from the lunch, including New York Times congressional correspondent Emily Cochrane."Of all the people you'll meet here, I'm about the only safe person in Washington," Paul said when asked why he was not wearing a mask. "I've already had (the) virus, so I can't get it again and can't&nbsp;give it to anybody."&nbsp;It's still unclear whether people who were infected by the virus have immunity.&nbsp;Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said more testing is needed."I think it's important to emphasize that we haven't yet proven that once you develop antibodies&nbsp;(you develop protective immunity)," he told NBC News last month. "It's still a scientific hypothesis that this virus will lead to protective immunity of some duration."Full story:Reporters Phillip Bailey, Billy Kobin and Ben Tobin, as well as The Associated Press,&nbsp;contributed to this story. Jonathan Bullington is an investigative reporter. Reach him at: 502-582-4241; JBullington@courierjournal.com; Twitter: .&nbsp;View Comments

Louisville Courier JournalView CommentsLOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky officials continue to push forward on plans to gradually ease restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus — even as the commonwealth saw its largest single-day tally of new cases&nbsp;with 625 people infected.Gov. Andy Beshear said almost half of those new cases — 309 — came from mass testing of inmates and staff at the Green River Correctional Center, which, along with nursing homes, has been a hot spot for the virus."It's a dangerous world out there right now that we have to be careful in the decisions that...

COVID-19 news roundup: Cases spike, but Beshear stays the course on reopening economy

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