COVID-19

Kayla Bebout called on residents to discontinue social gatherings, sporting events and extracurricular activities. A spokesman for the school system said the district would not follow that advice.

County Health Director Kayla Bebout advised the school district to follow the guidance for remote instruction when the county's incidence rate went into the critical red level as defined by the state Department of Education and the Department of Public Health.

Flu shots are also available at the health department without an appointment.

The governor noted that college athletes are regularly tested for COVID-19, but Kentucky's school teams aren't even required to test once a week.

When the rate hit 6% in early August, the governor recommended that schools delay in-person instruction until Sept. 28. Many school districts have started in-person classes, and “It’s gonna be a real challenge for us to keep this positivity rate low” when all of them are in, Beshear said.

The governor announced 439 new cases Sunday and three deaths.

The report pushed the local total since the pandemic began to 1,185.

In spite of state guidance recommending remote learning only and the suspension of all school-related athletic and extracurricular activities, Christian County Public Schools continued in-person instruction Friday and had made no announcement to cancel a football game set for Saturday against a school from another county with a "critical" level of community transmission.

The CEO of the Ashland hospital said COVID-19 is no longer limited to people with underlying health conditions. It's also affecting "babies, children and healthy, active men and women who have no idea how they were exposed."

On Thursday, the incidence rate was 28, well within the "critical" category under which guidance says to switch to remote learning only.

For the first time ever, research — but not the scientific kind — is at the fingertips of anyone who knows how to use an internet search engine. The research often stops when the searcher finds information that confirms their suspicions and fits their belief system.

Thursday's total was the second-highest number of cases announced in a single day.