LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The 2020 Kentucky State Fair will be limited to participants only, which means no food vendors, guest entertainment or spectators will be allowed.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said during a Thursday afternoon news conference that the state fair board decided to take the steps for safety reasons. Officials said that enforcing physical distancing would be essentially impossible during concerts, for example.
The fair was scheduled to be held Aug. 20-30.
Earlier this summer, Beshear had approved a state fair plan that would have required masks for staff, physical distancing for Midway queuing and reductions of livestock show entries of up to 82 percent. However, Kentucky has seen a recent spike in COVID-19 infections, prompting the governor to mandate masks, close bars and reduce restaurant capacity.
The state recorded a record of 979 COVID-19 cases on July 19, and since that day, the seven-day average number of daily cases has remained above 500. Before July, the daily number of cases has risen above 500 only once, on May 5.
In recent days, however, the number of daily cases appears to have reached a plateau, and Beshear has said the mask mandate has prevented the kind of exponential spike in cases that some other states have experience.
Greater Louisville Inc. President and CEO Sarah Davasher-Wisdom said in an email that the organization "recognizes the difficult decision made by the Kentucky State Fair Board and the need to prioritize public health during these unprecedented times."
However, she said the loss of hundreds of thousands of attendees and vendors at the fair would further harm the already struggling regional and state economies.
GLI said fair attendees and vendors typically pump $15 million into the local economy.
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