Gov. Andy Beshear issued several recommendations for 55 red zone counties, which includes Christian, to reduce the spread of COVID-19 following a week of record-high coronavirus cases and hospitalizations statewide. A red zone is a county with 25 or more average daily cases per 100,000 residents.
The Red Zone Reduction Recommendations are:
- Employers should allow employees to work from home when possible.
- Government offices that do not provide critical services need to operate virtually.
- Reduce in-person shopping by ordering online or using curbside pickup as much as possible.
- Order take-out; avoid dining in restaurants or bars.
- Prioritize businesses that follow and enforce the mask mandate and other guidelines.
- Reschedule, postpone or cancel public events.
- Do not host or attend gatherings of any size.
- Avoid non-essential activities outside of the home.
- Reduce overall activity and contacts, and follow existing guidance, including the 10 Steps to Defeat COVID-19.
“This isn’t too much to ask to keep your neighbors and your loved ones alive,” Beshear said.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack added, “It is not a good time to be out in public. This is the most dangerous it has been in eight months. The risk of you getting infected in the state of Kentucky has never been higher.”
Several Healthy at Work requirements remain in effect for public spaces, including bars, restaurants, business offices, stores, health care facilities, theaters, salons and churches. The governor’s executive order for the mask mandate is also in effect.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
