"Everyone should wear a mask. People who say 'I don't believe masks work' are ignoring scientific evidence. It's not a belief system. It's like saying, 'I don't believe in gravity.'" — Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of California-Davis Children's Hospital
Beshear said he ordered the mask requirement because recent increases in coronavirus cases threaten to escalate the spread in Kentucky. He said he doesn’t want Kentucky to experience the kind of spike seen in other states that now face hospital bed shortages.
One measure Beshear could mandate is the wearing of face masks, a step that is highly controversial despite proof that it curbs the spread of the virus. Such orders have been issued by governors in at least 19 other states, including West Virginia.
Kentucky is projected to have 8,522 fewer full-time students in its public colleges and universities compared to the last academic year, a decline of 6.1% that would result in a loss of $40.3 million.
The previous one-day high was 322, except the 625 reported on May 5, when the total included 309 cases found over many days of testing at a Western Kentucky prison.
Robert Celing was hospitalized for 12 days after becoming ill from a coronavirus infection. He received a plasma transfusion that a Jennie Stuart Medical Center doctor said probably saved his life.
