LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Kentucky saw its second-highest total of new COVID-19 cases on Friday, Gov. Andy Beshear said as he urged people to follow his order making face coverings or masks mandatory in many public settings.
The state reported 426 new cases, including 13 among children younger than 5. Those new infections take Kentucky’s total to 18,670.
The new cases lag only a daily total of 625 cases from May 5, although that figure included more than 300 cases from the Green River Correctional Complex.
Beshear on Thursday required masks to be worn, with some exceptions, in public starting at 5 p.m. Friday. He said the order is mandatory, brushing off legal challenges to the order and predicting a win at the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
“More people are testing positive, and it’s not just because or more tests,” he said.
Beshear said the rate of positive COVID-19 tests, which is based on a seven-day average, has risen.
Two weeks ago, he said, the rate was 2.47 percent; last week it was 2.87 percent. This week, the rate is 4.5 percent, the governor said.
“We can address this, and we can do it now. Keep your social distance. Wash your hands. Follow the rules and restrictions at work and at home,” he said. “Don’t leave home if you don’t have to. Reduce your contacts and wear the mask.”
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