Beshear limits size of gatherings, issues travel advisory

July 20, 2020 | 4:32 pm

Updated July 20, 2020 | 4:34 pm

Graphic by Owensboro Times

Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday issued a mandate again reducing the maximum number of people that can attend informal gatherings such as backyard parties to 10 people or less. He also announced a travel advisory for Kentuckians, asking them to self-quarantine for two weeks after visiting states with a positive testing rate of 15% or greater. 

Beshear said travel and informal gatherings have been two of the major causes of clusters of COVID-19 cases in Kentucky as the state’s number of cases has started to increase at a rapid rate.

Beshear announced 258 new COVID-19 cases and one new death Monday, bringing the state total to 23,414 cases and 671 deaths. The case positivity rate in Kentucky is now 4.52%. More than 533,000 individuals have been tested, while nearly 7,000 people have recovered statewide. 

Informal gatherings

The size of social gatherings has again been reduced from 50 to 10 people. Beshear said that applies to things such as backyard barbecues or block parties. It does not apply to restaurants or businesses, venues, or events such as outdoor weddings. 

“Those are all regulated by other things that are out there, and they have licenses that give them the motivation to clean and to do the right things,” Beshear said. “We are just seeing too much spread from 50 people getting together in somebody’s backyard or in their neighborhood. I know 10 is different, but 10 is much more manageable. It can contain the spread, and if everybody could help us out with that … again, we don’t want to become Arizona or Florida.”

Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health, said informal gatherings are typically with friends and our family, meaning those are the places people are most likely to let their guard down. 

“They’re the very places you’re most likely to give a spontaneous hug or a pat on the back … or get close where you’re talking because you’re comfortable with those folks. … The larger the number of people we bring together, the more we increase the probability that one person with infection spreads it to multiple people. … One person infects a bunch, and then they scatter. They take that disease all throughout the state and to other states.”

Travel advisory

States currently with a 15% positivity rate or worse are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Mississippi.

“We are asking for anyone who goes to a state that has over a 15% positivity rate to quarantine for 14 days when they come back. This is a request for each of the individuals,” Beshear said. “These are areas where right now this virus is uncontrolled. I’m not blaming any of these areas … I want the absolute best for everybody, but these are areas that right now we know aren’t safe.”

Stack said the data used to determine positivity rates comes from Johns Hopkins University. People can view the data themselves at coronavirus.jhu.edu.

“Some say we do too much. Some say we do too little. This is a recommendation. This is an advisory,” Stack said of the travel ban. “I’m telling you what you need to do to stay safe, to not get infected. It’s your choice at some level what to do, and when we have to we make requirements. I want to continue to try to inspire people to do the right thing.”

Affect on economy/schools

Beshear said the two measures are vital in helping to keep the economy open. He said the ability to slow the spread of the virus is to help make it easier to reopen schools this fall.

“If we can’t do the right thing and wear masks in places that we need to, if we can’t agree that we’ll have 10 people over instead of 50, the jobs that our school systems face compared to that is so difficult,” he said. “And we’ve got to make sure that we’re not asking schools to open at a time when our cases are increasing significantly. We need to make sure that they are under control.”

Beshear said the state needs to stop the increase in the next 10-20 days, or more action the administration may have to roll back on reopening plans and take further action. 

Guidance from the White House suggests requiring face coverings, reducing restaurants to 25% capacity and closing bars for hard-hit areas.

Beshear said while the state is already required to wear a mask, Kentucky isn’t to the point yet to where they have to adopt the other suggestions.

July 20, 2020 | 4:32 pm

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