As Kentuckians take the first steps toward restarting the economy, Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday shared new guidelines to help businesses reopen safely amid the fight against COVID-19.
The governor unveiled a new, 10-point plan that aims to guide businesses as they prepare for a gradual reopening while continuing to keep all workers and patrons safe. He said the guidelines apply to most employers.
“There are things that are similar to all businesses,” Beshear said. “These are things that are in the White House’s plan for reopening. And just like we talk about 10 steps for defeating the coronavirus, I want to talk about 10 steps for Healthy at Work.”
This week, Kentucky began the phased reopening of health care services as the first step under Gov. Beshear’s Healthy at Work initiative, which set out public health benchmarks for reopening Kentucky’s economy. These benchmarks closely follow the White House’s Guidelines for Reopening America.
The 10 rules to reopening a business under the Healthy at Work plan are:
- Continue telework where possible
- Phased return to work
- On-site temperature/health checks
- Universal masks and other necessary PPE
- Close common areas
- Enforce social distancing
- Limit face-to-face meetings
- Sanitizer/hand wash stations
- Special accommodations
- Testing plan
Other updates from Beshear
Unemployment payments
Beshear provided an update on the state’s efforts to work through an unprecedented number of unemployment insurance claims. He said nearly 174,000 claims have been paid out totaling more than $173 million.
However, he noted that about 37,000 claims from March remain unprocessed. The Governor said a variety of issues were causing the delays, including employer separation and identity verification issues.
“There have been significant steps taken, but we want to get through everything from March this week,” Gov. Beshear said.
Case information
As of Tuesday afternoon, Beshear said there were at least 4,375 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 230 of which were newly confirmed.
He also reported 12 new deaths, raising the state’s toll to 225 deaths related to the virus.
“That’s a lot of Kentuckians to lose in a day, even to something this deadly,” the governor said. He urged everyone to remember the families who are grieving by lighting up houses and business with green lights, the color of compassion and renewal.
At least 1,617 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.
“That is a real positive,” he said. “We love every time somebody moves to the recovered column.”
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The Owensboro Health coronavirus hotline is available 24/7 by calling 877-888-6647. Call the hotline before seeking in-person care. More information from OH can be found here.
For the latest information and data on COVID-19 in Kentucky visit kycovid19.ky.gov or dial the Kentucky state hotline at 800-722-5725.
For the latest health guidelines and resources from the CDC, visit their website here.
