Governor Andy Beshear announced Tuesday they are easing more restrictions for restaurants and businesses and says the annual state fair will occur barring any major increases in cases.
Beshear says restaurants and others who have been operating under the 33% capacity restriction over the last month can expand to 50%.
Businesses can increase their capacity one month after the 33% rule went into effect, which would see restaurants opening to 50% on June 22. Other dates will be released in the coming days on the state’s Healthy at Work website.
In other announcements Tuesday, the governor said they have approved a proposal turned in by the state fair. He says the fair will take place from Thursday, August 20 to Sunday, August 30, but there will be some changes.
Beshear adds the fair will be reduced in size since they will not be able to use any property that the field hospital is located on. He says the field hospital will remain in place in case of a major spike in cases.
The state confirmed 245 new cases Tuesday, with 91 coming from Jefferson County, which continues to see a high number of new cases. Of the state’s 11,708 confirmed cases, 3,365 people have recovered.
Governor Beshear also announced five new deaths Tuesday, meaning 477 Kentucky residents have died from COVID-19.
In other news, Dr. Steven Stack says the World Health Organization is beginning to take back the statement released Monday saying that it was rare that asymptomatic people were spreading COVID-19.
Stack says everyone should not take one data point and run with it and allow it to be expanded to make it sound like COVID-19 is not a dangerous disease.
