We are posting the updates from Governor Beshear as a service to our readers, along with the full video of the press conference. The bullets come from the KY Health News site, and the video is straight from YouTube. Today’s summary from KY Health News contains updates from sources other than Beshear; we have moved the Beshear ones to the top of the summary.
Summary Bullets from KY Health News (original post)
- Gyms, theaters, hair and nail salons and other places where people congregate must close by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Gov. Andy Beshear said. His order applies mainly to entertainment and recreational facilities, not groceries, pharmacies, retail businesses, auto repair shops, health-care facilities, gas stations, pet stores and so forth.
- Responding to a report that he had denied legislative leaders’ request to call a special session to deal with matters that would be left hanging if they ended their session sooner than planned, Beshear said “I’m not doing the back and forth” and gave the General Assembly two options: pass a budget as soon as possible and go home without considering other legislation, and “certainly don’t consider laws that get people fired up;” or adjourn without a budget, “and I will call a special session for budget and any legislation related to coronavirus.” He can limit the topics of a special session.
- Four more Kentucky cases of covid-19 were confirmed overnight, for a total of 25. The Lexington Herald Leader has a case tracker.
- The state website and phone lines for filing unemployment claims “were not functioning as of Tuesday afternoon and have not since Monday morning, when Gov. Andy Beshear ordered all restaurants and bars to close dine-in services in an effort to curb the new coronavirus,” the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. The state had waived the one-week waiting period for those out of work due to the virus, and the work-search requirement. “Beshear said during a news conference Monday that officials were working to correct problems with the website and phone line, but provided no concrete timeline for when those services would be available.”
- The state Public Service Commission ordered all utilities it regulates to suspend until further notice, and for at least 30 days, all cutoffs for non-payment, and to stop charging late-payment fees. It said the order “in no way relieves customers of the obligation to ultimately pay for utility services, but it “expects utilities to establish ‘lenient and flexible payment plans’ for customers who fall behind.”
- President Trump said rules on tele-medicine would be relaxed, to prevent crowding at physicians’ offices. Medicare/Medicaid Director Seema Verma said co-payments will be waived “so cost won’t be a barrier,” and patients should call doctors for details.
- “We are looking to save the maximum number of lives,” Trump said. “The economy’s gonna come back; a life’s not gonna come back.”
- “Trump has suddenly and markedly recalibrated his own approach, after weeks of blasé comments . . . that spurred some of his allies to dismiss the danger of the pandemic,” writes Robert Costa of The Washington Post. Trump said his tone hasn’t changed.
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave states authority to authorize coronavirus tests in their own states and said private laboratories can develop and use tests before FDA approval.
- Dollar General Corp. said its stores would be open only to seniors during the first hour of business each day, because people over 60 are more vulnerable to the coronavirus.
- The University of Kentucky said classes would go online the rest of the semester, not just the two weeks after the current spring break.
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would, as soon as its members give it permission, pass and send to Trump the House-passed bill that would provide two weeks’ sick leave at no less than two-thirds of normal pay, to encourage people who may have the virus to stay home from work. Among other things, it would also expand family and medical leave and boost unemployment benefits. He said the 53 Republican senators and the White House would then start drafting another bill with “policy tools to put money quickly and directly into the hands of American families,” then negotiate with Senate Democrats to get a version that can the 60 votes needed to pass. “We know an additional bill of much larger proportions is necessary to meet this crisis,” he said.
Video of 3/17/20 press conference
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