531 New COVID cases and 8 more deaths Friday

By TOM LATEK, Kentucky Today

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) —  Kentucky recorded another high number of new cases of COVID-19 on Friday with 531, the third-highest day on record, according to Gov. Andy Beshear.
He said the number of positive cases typically trails the initial infection by 10 to 14 days, if there’s a quick turnaround on the tests.  “The world that we have these 531 cases from, is a world that is at least ten days old.  That’s why we want everyone to wear facial covering.  Hopefully, it means 14 days from now we see very different numbers which are much lower.”
The record number was 625 on May 5, nearly half of which were reported at Green River Correctional Complex, the second highest was 576 on Tuesday, July 14.
Friday’s report brings the total number of positive cases during the pandemic to 21,605, and Beshear said it’s important to stop this where it is right now.
“Beating COVID is not about the Governor or Attorney General,” he said. “It’s about the people of Kentucky and about us coming together.  At the end of the day, we won’t look back at any of the drama.  We’ll look back at the loss of life, we’ll look back at whether we were able to keep our economy open, we’ll look back at how much did our kids suffer and were we able to get them back in school.”
This is in reference to court cases in which Attorney General Daniel Cameron intervened on behalf of plaintiffs who sought to have the Governor’s executive orders overturned.
The Kentucky Supreme Court on Friday issued a “stay,” which prevents all lower court rulings from taking effect.  Those lower courts are allowed to proceed with matters before them and issue all findings of fact and conclusions of law they find appropriate.  “But no order, however characterized, shall be effective. Our stay shall continue until the full record of proceedings below is reviewed by this Court,” the justices stated, in a unanimous order.
More on the court rulings in a separate Kentucky Today story.
The Governor also announced eight more deaths were reported on Friday due to the coronavirus, making it 653.
They include an 85-year-old man from Bell County, an 84-year old man from Carroll County, a 70-year old woman from Casey County, an 83-year old woman from Franklin County, a  60-year old woman and a 73-year-old man from Jefferson County, a 75-year-old from Fayette County, and a 68-year-old from Muhlenberg County.
Beshear also expressed concern Friday about the increase in young children testing positive for COVID-19.  “Today, we have kids under five.  We have three of them under one year old and two kids that are just one year old.”