Kentucky is working to remove barriers to testing for and treatment of the novel coronavirus.

Medicaid recipients will no longer be required to get prior authorizations to be tested or treated for coronavirus and, via an executive order, the state’s Department of Insurance would require private insurers to eliminate copays and other charges, Gov. Andy Beshear said at a press briefing in the Capitol on Monday morning.

“My goal and what we’re going to get to is to make sure that there is no cost barrier to these tests,” Beshear said, adding that as private labs begin testing for the virus the state is “going to learn a lot.”

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At his morning press briefing, Beshear revealed that Kentucky’s first coronavirus patient is a Walmart employee in Cynthiana.

The local health department there has quarantined six of the patient’s coworkers, none of whom are currently showing any symptoms of the novel coronavirus disease or COVID-19, officials said Monday.

Beshear sought to calm fears about the virus’s spread.

“For everybody who has been through that Walmart, I know it’s going to make you nervous,” said Beshear, who was joined in the Capitol on Monday by health officials and leaders of the three Kentucky communities with coronavirus cases — Cynthiana, Lexington and Louisville. “Just because you’ve been there doesn’t mean that you have the coronavirus.”

Asked whether the Walmart would be providing paid sick leave for employees, Beshear, who has urged employers to take such action previously, deferred to the big box retailer, which he said would be releasing its own statement on the matter.

In a statement provided to USA Today, Walmart's corporate headquarters in Benton, Arkansas, said it has been “communicating with our associates, stressing the importance of staying home if they are not feeling well and encouraging our associates to seek medical care immediately if they have any signs or symptoms."

"Rest assured, we will continue to take any and all measures necessary to ensure the well-being of our associates and customers,” the statement said.

The second Harrison coronavirus patient was “linked” to the first, but not via the Walmart, according to Dr. Crystal Miller, head of WEDCO, the local health department in Cynthiana.

The Cynthiana Walmart did not close after the first patient tested positive for coronavirus, but it did step up its cleaning efforts, Miller said.

“We don’t have any reason to believe it’s dangerous to go to that Cynthiana Walmart right now,” Beshear said. “And we know how important Walmart is to a community.”

The governor announced two new cases of the virus in the state later Monday evening, bringing the total to six. The new cases are in Harrison and Fayette counties. Harrison now has three cases and Fayette two. The other case is in Jefferson County.

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Coronavirus in Kentucky:Here's what you should know about Kentucky's 4 confirmed coronavirus cases

The first case of COVID-19 in Kentucky was confirmed Friday, when Beshear and state health officials announced a patient in Lexington had tested positive for the disease.

That patient, the Walmart worker, is receiving care in isolation at the University of Kentucky's Chandler Hospital after previously being treated at Harrison Memorial Hospital in Cynthiana, which is roughly 80 miles from Louisville. The patient is improving, Beshear said Monday.

Meanwhile, Jefferson County's patient is being treated at Norton Brownsboro Hospital in Louisville, according to a news release from Norton Healthcare late Sunday evening.

The patient was tested for COVID-19 after arriving at the hospital with respiratory symptoms. Norton is working with the Kentucky Department of Public Health, Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, as well as Beshear and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.

Two cases of the coronavirus have also been reported in Indiana, both in the greater Indianapolis area.

Officials sidestepped questions Monday related to why the first coronavirus patient, the Cynthiana Walmart worker, was twice denied testing for COVID-19 at the direction of the Kentucky Department of Health.

Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health, told reporters he thought the patient was identified “as quickly as we could, given the best knowledge we had available at that time and guidance from the CDC.”

The emergency physician at Saint Joseph Hospital East in Lexington added that he hoped commercial laboratories get up to speed quickly so that the coronavirus test is more widely available.

As for whether the state is providing hospitals all of the protective gear they need, Stack told The Courier Journal that the state provides hospitals with a request process to follow, but that there is a nationwide need for more equipment.

The University of Kentucky Hospital has said it is running low on personal protective equipment.

Russell Cox, the CEO of Norton Healthcare, told reporters Monday that his hospitals are still running at maximum capacity so far and that there have been no cancellations of elective surgery.

Dr. Stack, the public health commissioner, urged Kentuckians not to panic.

“The hospitals and the healthcare facilities across the commonwealth are ready to try to help you, just like the state is,” Stack said. “But if you are worried-well, do not go to a hospital, an ER or a doctor’s office. If you are worried-well, you are well, and going to the hospital or a healthcare setting just further overwhelms them and concentrates people.”

Reporters Tessa Duvall and Ben Tobin contributed to this article.

Reach reporter Alfred Miller at amiller@gannett.com or 502-582-7142. Follow him on Twitter @AlfredFMiller. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.