Beshear Extends Mask Mandate Thirty Days

Governor Andy Beshear on Thursday extended the mandate requiring facial coverings for another 30 days, citing its success and continued importance in flattening the curve of COVID-19 cases in the commonwealth.

"By now, we all know someone that we care about, that we're close to who is fighting this virus or has fought this virus. And as things progress, we will all probably know somebody who we have lost to this virus. This is going to be a month where I hope we turn things around, but based on July, we're still going to see a lot of pain," said Gov. Beshear. "So let's make sure that we protect our mental and emotional health, stay as committed as we've always been to defeating this virus and step it up."

The governor said that on Monday he will have additional guidance for Kentucky's bars and restaurants.

"Expectations ought to be that capacity will increase again to 50% but there will be some changes. Especially in restaurants, we need people to still prioritize outdoor seating," said Beshear. "Bars and restaurants are both going to be expected to have their last item served at 10 p.m. Then there is going to be an hour to let people eat and drink and ultimately go home."

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, Beshear said there were at least 33,254 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 516 of which were newly reported Thursday. Twelve of the newly reported cases were from children ages 5 and younger.

"We appear to not just be slowing, but we hope stopping any escalation that we've seen. It's further evidence that wearing that facial covering is truly helping Kentucky in so many different ways – our people, our economy, our kids," said Gov. Beshear. "So let's keep it up. I believe that if we continue to do this, we can see even better numbers than what we have now."

Beshear reported eight new deaths Thursday, raising the total to 760 Kentuckians lost to the virus. The new deaths include an 87-year-old man from Graves County.

The positivity rate currently stands at 5.51%, unchanged from yesterday. At least 8,523 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus.

You can see Beshear's full update below: