Beshear announces 184 new cases, 4 new deaths as national COVID-19 deaths surpasses 20,000

Michael J. Collins
April 12, 2020

Gov. Andy Beshear announced Saturday during his daily press release 184 new cases of the coronavirus and 4 new deaths, bringing the state total to 1,840 cases and 94 deaths.

As of Saturday, the United States has seen 530,384 cases, 20,513 deaths and 29,444 recoveries from COVID-19. As it stands, the U.S. has the highest number of active cases in the world and has surpassed Italy for the highest number of deaths.

Beshear singled out western Kentucky as being one of the harder-hit regions in the state. Warren County saw 14 confirmed cases since yesterday, the most new infections of any county.

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A topic of discussion during the conference was Beshear’s order yesterday that requires mandatory self-isolation for anyone who attends mass gatherings. Many places of worship have shut down in-person services as a result.

“To our knowledge, 99.89% of all churches and synagogues and mosques have chosen to do the right thing [by stopping in-person services],” Beshear said. “They are making the sacrifice, as are their congregations, knowing the coronavirus will spread in any service in Kentucky.”

Beshear reminded reporters of various cases nationwide, such as in Arkansas and California, where single church services led to dozens of new cases as well as several deaths.

Beshear discussed the difficulty the state has had in acquiring gloves and masks for workers and those in need. Currently, the state must either compete with other entities (other states, FEMA and the federal government) in order to buy from manufacturers, produce their own, or distribute equipment donated by the public.

“[Donations] have gone better, by far, than any of the other two,” Beshear said. “We have over two million gloves because of people in Kentucky coming together and realizing this is the highest and best use.”

Beshear said if you have spare gloves or masks, visit GivePPE.Ky.Gov or call (833)GIVE-PPE to arrange a donation.

News reporter Michael J. Collins can be reached at 502-655-9925 and [email protected]. Follow Michael on Twitter at @NotMichaelJColl.