Beshear lays out conditions for schools to reopen, expects bars and restaurants to resume indoor service next week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Kentucky schools should be able to resume in-person classes in January, but Gov. Andy Beshear said there will be some conditions.

"We are looking for a way and making plans to where, even schools in counties where the community transmission of this virus is high, can get back to some form of in-person classes," Beshear told WDRB News.

Beshear said schools in red zone counties, which average 25 or more daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, will be able to reopen if they meet two conditions.

First, school districts must offer a virtual learning option for every class.

"Previously some schools have said 'We'll have a virtual option but not for any [Advanced Placement] classes.' You can't do that to that student who might be immunocompromised and is in those classes," Beshear said.

Second, the governor said schools must have protections in place for faculty and staff.

"We know that this can and does spread inside those buildings," he said. "So we need to make sure the most vulnerable have options and that there are real protections for our educators."

Teacher reading to students with mask on — WDRB file photo

Beshear said the restrictions on schools, restaurants and bars and more he enacted in November are slowing the spread of the virus.

"We're still seeing if there's going to be a Thanksgiving surge, and we'll have to analyze that if it happens within those numbers," he said. "But there is no question that the steps we take work."

On Wednesday, Beshear announced 3,481 new COVID-19 cases and 16 more deaths in which the virus was a contributing factor. According to a report from Kentucky Public Health, 1,792 Kentuckians were hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide on Wednesday, while more than 400 patients were being treated in intensive care units and 211 were on ventilators.

But the governor also called attention to what he called "promising trends" within the state's pandemic data. Dropping from 9.56% on Tuesday to 9.23% on Wednesday, the state's positivity rate has been on the decline for six days in a row.

"They are still far too high, but given that we were experiencing exponential growth before we took those difficult steps, this is evidence that we may not just be slowing down that growth, we may even be plateauing our cases," Beshear said in a news release. "You have to slow down the train before you stop it, and you have to stop it before you turn it around."

The governor said he expects bars and restaurants to be able to reopen at 50% capacity on Dec. 14, but with that comes stricter expectations of compliance with the mask mandate — even if some customers push back.

"If the difference is between safety and whether a deadly virus is spreading in your facility and some awkwardness and some anger, I hope that people will side on safety," he said.

Beshear also acknowledged the state's continuing problems with processing unemployment insurance claims. He said the obstacles continue to be outdated equipment, staff cuts over the years, a confusing federal unemployment system and the large number of people still filing claims.

"It's not just what's coming out of the bucket; it's what's coming back in," Beshear said. "And second, the system itself, that the federal government set up, is wrong. It's intended to create problems for people."

Beshear expects the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to be available for Kentucky hospitals and nursing homes around Dec. 15 and for the general public sometime in the spring of 2021.

"These are really effective vaccines," he said. "And if enough people are willing to take them here moving to the end of the spring or beginning of summer, getting back to normal is no longer something we hope for, it's something we can do — if everybody gets on board."

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