Governor Andy Beshear announced some previous restrictions will take effect Tuesday for bars and restaurants across the Commonwealth.
During his Monday news conference, Beshear said freestanding bars will close and restaurants will go to 25% dining room capacity. The new mandates keep the outdoor capacity at 100%, as long as the restaurants follow proper social distancing rules. These will take effect at 5:00 PM Tuesday.
Beshear added these mandates come as a recommendation from the White House.
Other White House recommendations include the 30-day mask mandate that started on July 10; limiting social, non-commercial gatherings to 10 or fewer people, which started last Monday; and now asking schools to push the start date for classes to the third week of August.
He added if a bar that serves food chooses to stay open, they need to follow the guidelines for restaurants.
Beshear hopes to get back to 50% capacity at restaurants and reopen bars in two weeks if the number of daily cases begins to decline.
During his Monday conference, Beshear announced 522 new COVID-19 cases, meaning the state’s total of confirmed cases now sits at 27,601. He added the state now has a positivity rate of 5.58%. Of the new cases announced Monday, 21 are among children under the age of 5.
Beshear also reported 9 new deaths, raising the state’s death toll to 709. Among the new deaths, a 67-year old male from Livingston County.
