LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky lawmakers have advanced a resolution to end the COVID-19 state of emergency issued by Gov. Andy Beshear in March 2020.
Senate Joint Resolution 150, introduced last Friday, Feb. 18, would end the state of emergency on March 7 — two years and one day after it was first declared by Beshear. It's currently set to expire on April 15.
Lawmakers said the resolution, which cleared the Senate State and Local Government Committee on Wednesday, "designates the official end of the pandemic."
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, cited the state's COVID-19 positivity rate that "has dramatically declined since last month" as a reason to end the executive order early.
"We know more than we ever have about this virus, and we have the tools to protect us," he said in a news release, calling the resolution "a signal to the people of Kentucky that life must go on."
Douglas said the action "needs to be taken now while lawmakers are still in session" to prevent the governor from issuing an extension. The 2022 legislative session ends April 14.
The resolution can now be considered by the House of Representatives. It would also need final approval from Beshear.
This comes as the state reported 2,202 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 38 deaths related to the virus. To date, 1,274,681 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Kentucky, with 13,758 deaths, according to a report from Kentucky Public Health. Kentucky's current positivity rate is 9.85%.
The report also showed 1,148 Kentuckians in the hospital with COVID-19 as of Friday, with 223 in an Intensive Care Unit and 119 on a ventilator.
As of Friday, the state's seven-day COVID-19 incidence rate map shows three of Kentucky's 120 counties in yellow, 41 in orange and 76 still in red, including Jefferson County with an incidence rate of 38.5. Red counties have a "high" incidence rate, with more than 25 per 100,000 people testing positive for COVID-19. Orange counties have a "substantial" incidence rate, with between 10 and 25 people per 100,000 residents testing positive. Yellow counties have a "moderate" incidence rate, with between one and 10 people per 100,000 residents testing positive for COVID-19. The state's overall incidence rate is 35.05.
For a breakdown of current COVID-19 cases in Kentucky, click here. For vaccine information, click here. For testing information, click here. To see the state's COVID-19 dashboard for more information, click here.
Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
