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Good morning. This is our 9 a.m. A little more like 9:15 a.m. update on the Corona virus in Kentucky. Like each day, we will go through the number of cases in Kentucky. We will go through the steps we have taken, and we're gonna announce some new steps today. Like we've announced just about every other day. Eso um We announced yesterday afternoon that currently in Kentucky, we have eight positive cases. Five are in Harrison County. Two are in Fayette County. One is in Jefferson County. The way those breakdown is, we have four in isolation in a hospital. We have four in isolation at home. The good news is that all eight to our knowledge, our stable are doing well. And a couple of these individuals may almost be through this, and that is very, very good news. To date, we have had 54 tests, 46 have been negative and eight have been positive. But we here in the state are very intentionally being aggressive and how we address the Corona virus. That is both to try to prevent cases to prevent a spike in cases which we have seen in other areas and to get more time. As the different labs and other possibilities come online, it's important that everybody out there remain calm. We're going to get through this. Yes, there will be a distant disruptions in our daily lives, and we've already instituted steps that are disruptions. These will be annoyances. I get that. But it's incredibly important that we take these steps, that we practice good hygiene and that we protect one another. And we have to get through this with compassion, making sure that are homebound. Seniors are still taken care off, making sure that we still provide the essential service is to our people. And after someone has tested positive and has gone through the self isolation period has had those two negative tests and thankfully is able to step out of that isolation. We need to treat them like everybody else in this state. As a recap. Steps we have taken here in the Commonwealth include the state of emergency, which I called, which gives us all the tools under state law to address the spread of the Corona virus, we've activated the State Health Operations Center and the Emergency Management Operations Center. We have called Just tell the call yesterday with all 120 county judges and their emergency management folks to discuss the emergency manage network to give them an update on this and to talk with them and answer any questions. We've initiated changes to Medicaid, including eliminating prior authorization and any type of fees associated with testing or treatment on the Corona virus. I filed an executive order to waive copays and other costs related to private insurers that we have that type of power and control over. They issued an executive order to prohibit price gouging, and I've asked Attorney General Daniel Cameron to enforce the price gouging laws. If anyone has information regarding possible price gouging, they should contact the office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Hotline at 88843 to 9 to 57 We have issued gardens on our website. This is the source in Kentucky for reliable information. There's a reason we have this website and not a lot of other social media or other points. We need to drive everyone to this one resource. It's K y Cove in 19 dot k y dot gov Kyi Cove. It 19 dot k y dot gov. It provides an update on tests positive cases, and it provides updates on the guidance that we have provided and at the CDC has provided we have a Corona virus. Hot line up and running 1 807 2257 to 51 807 2257 to 5. We've put out guidance and an infographic on when to see care. That means if you're well but nervous, call the hotline. Don't flood are health systems. It means that if you are sick but otherwise would not have sought medical attention if but for the Corona virus again, make a call. Don't flood that health care system. But if you are truly sick on, would have sought attention. Otherwise, If you have an injury where you need medical attention, please go get it. We've published the CDC guidelines with their warnings, and it's important that we repeat them every time that we do this. Individuals over 60 do not go places where there are large crowds. We need you to alter the times that you would do your grocery shopping or or other interactions with those large crowds. It's It's very important guidance and individuals that appear vulnerable to this Corona virus, which right now we believe our folks that have heart, lung or kidney disease or a compromised immune system again follow that same advice, do not go places that there are large crowds. And for these vulnerable populations and those over 60 uh, do not fly. Please do not get on a cruise ship for any reason whatsoever. That's the same guidance that the leading expert in the United States is giving every single time that he has interviewed. We provided strong guidance advising nursing homes and long term care facilities to restrict visitors except an end of life situations. And we and state run facilities are are restricting visitation. We know that this is gonna be difficult, that we want to be able to check on our loved ones, and we want to make sure they're getting the care that they need. We're stepping up our inspections from our Office of Inspector General in C. H. F s to try to make sure that all of those needs are being met in the proper care is being given. And while it's gonna be hard for many people not to see a loved one during this period of time. What could happen if this Corona virus gets into one of those facilities can be devastating, as we see in Seattle. And it's my job to protect the health and life of those individuals, especially the most vulnerable. So please understand this is gonna be hard, but understand how important it is that we restrict that visitation. We've asked business to prepare telework options and adopt paid sick leave. We're already seeing some national employers do that. State employers, please look at that option. We believe that it is necessary A signed an executive order that allows pharmacist to refill prescriptions up to 30 days. And if we need to stage pharmacy areas outside of the normal pharmacy that is on the license will have the ability to do that, too. And we've issued guidance from our personnel cabinet regarding personnel protocols for state employees. We want in government to be a model of what we're asking others to do. So we're ensuring that everybody in state government has the sick leave that they need in state government. You accrue your number of sick days. By how long you've been working in state government, and that's a problem, because if we have someone that is sick, that hasn't accrued those days, they need to be able to have that paid leave. And we're We've already put out the guidance and the directive that we are providing that so new steps that we're providing today and and there are a number of these steps again, while we only have eight cases, we know that this is community spread, and we think it's very important to get ahead of it. First, we're closing all of our state prisons and similar facilities to visitors. This is a step that other states are taking, and we believe, given the confined space that it is necessary. I'm gonna ask Judge Noble in a minute to talk about some other things we're going to do to make sure those prisoners still contact their loved ones, which means I believe some additional free calls, Andi, other opportunities. We know that it's gonna be hard again on families and on prisoners where that visit is so important. But this is about protecting their health, the health of our corrections officers and making sure that we get through this. We will be talking to our jailers today on a call here and a little bit. We're gonna be providing them similar guidance. We're asking our schools and school systems and we will have a call with our superintendents later to develop plans to be able to close on short notice if necessary. Now, that could be a short as 72 hours. And while we are not there yet, it is very possible that in the future we're gonna have to ask schools in Kentucky to close down for a period of time. We want to be prepared. We want to make sure that if we do, that kid's still get the meals that they desperately need and the care that they need while this Corona virus does not appear to affect Children and that is really good news. If you're the dad of a nine and a 10 year old, the number of people that are kids can interact with means we've got to be very thoughtful about what we do. As far as the school system forgiven everybody, some more aggressive guidance today on crowds, we are recommending that every individual in Kentucky do what they can to minimize their interaction and going to large meetings or groups that includes community service is. So I'll announced today that we're going to cancel the prayer breakfast now that we were gonna have this week. You know, faith is very important to make this prayer. Breakfast is very important to make, but the life and health of our people is Maur is just It's important to May. I don't believe that whether you go to church during this period of time is a test of faith. I believe God gives us wisdom to protect each other, and we should do that. And I'm going to recommend that our churches across Kentucky cancel their service is for this weekend again. I know that that's a big step. I know that some won't agree with it, but I believe that it's it's our job toe offer those protections that we have a lot of opportunity for. Virtual service's. I know those out there that that that that would otherwise go have an opportunity to get out that Bible Lord or whatever it is of their faith that gives them guidance and ensure that they have that time with their family this weekend where in their own home they can. They can practice their faith and worship. We are going to suspend non essential travel for state employees, and we're gonna recommend that businesses do the same and that is any out of state travel. Um, we're going to go ahead and recommend that employers institute tele work where they can. This is getting ahead as trying to prevent the spread and ensure that the entire health care system has the time to be fully ready. I believe that we are ready, but we want to make sure that we can service everyone. Ultimately that needs our help. And we'll be providing guidance for steps that we're taking in the capital a little later today. As you can see, the chairs are a little more spread out here, and we're gonna be taking steps like that as we move forward. So I know that is a number of new steps, and we're gonna hear new steps every single day. I'd remind people that we learn something new about this virus just about every day, and so we're gonna have to be fluid and flexible and how we adjust. But once again. We're gonna be okay. We're gonna make it through this. I'm gonna try to continue to lead with information to provide updates once or even multiple times a day. I can tell you that despite an SEC tournament this weekend, I'm gonna be right here because that's where I need to be. Making sure that we are continuing to provide the updates and the guidance that we need. We will get through this Kentucky, all of our families. We will get through this. It's okay to be nervous and to be prepared. But do not panic. Stay calm. We're going to make it for those that have concerns about not being able to find hand sanitizer, Remember, soap and water is better. Wash your hands multiple times a day, every day. Clean surfaces throughout your house in your place of business. If you're having trouble finding commercial cleaners, a 1 100 bleach solution we believe is very effective. And make sure that if you are sick, do not go toe work. Now there are two things in this that we should all want being good neighbors to each other. Number one is that we want to protect ourselves and our families. But number two is. We should not want to spread this to anybody else because so many people are asymptomatic who haven't. And remember that if your kid is sick, they need to stay home from school as well that while right now it doesn't appear to impact Children. And we'll learn more about that are in the same way that it does other adults. That doesn't mean that your child couldn't go to school. It be spread and ultimately someone else be infected with it. So all of these are aggressive steps. But we believe that they are necessary steps that will help us to ultimately move through this. Now, I'm gonna first ask that Secretary Noble come up and talk a little bit about our closure to visitation of our state prison and other similar institutions. Secretary Noble, sir. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Some of you may have noticed that I moved two steps away from Secretary Friedlander. That's because I realized I was not maintaining proper social distance. This is an important thing for us to be aware of into that end, every step that the governor is taken and consequently, every step that his Cabinet secretaries are taking is because we care deeply about the health and welfare of the citizens of Kentucky, and some of those citizens are confined in our institutions because they are confined. They are our responsibility and we're trying very hard. I don't think anybody can ensure about this virus, but to do our best to maintain their health in that closed environment. To that end, we did decide that it was the best thing to do to stop outside visitation. And that's a very hard decision to make, because for confined person, seeing your family and friends on that weekly visit is very important. But here's another important fact. Our confined people love their families and friends, and they don't want them exposed to the virus either. So we're working together with the folks in our institutions to temporarily suspend this visitation. We don't know how long, but not a day longer than we have to to assist in this process. We're going to provide them with a free phone call each week and up to two I believe, contacts through a controlled social media source. It's not the same as seeing them in the flesh we know that, but it is a good option. We believe it this time to keep contact with friends and family were all working together, and I'm really appreciative of the help that we're getting from those that are confined themselves. Next we'll hear from our public health commissioner, and I know I say this each and every day. But he's doing an amazing job, and his people are working harder than I think any of us could have ever imagined to address this. I know that well, I haven't slept a lot in the past four or five days that they have been truly heroes in what they're doing, as have our local health departments. Let me reiterate how proud I am of the steps Harrison County has taken how they have all come together, the good decisions that they made the importance of Wed Co. Which is their local health department serving a number of counties. Their local newspaper, which put together 18,000 extras to put in people's mail box. Now that that county is going through a tough time, but their leadership has been steady, they have reached out to every individual in their community. They're gonna be the model I believe of of how we communicate on address this when you have a number of positive tests in one county. So now, Dr Steven Stack, Thank you. Thank you. Governor and I would like to thank the governor. His leadership in his support has made this response so much better than it could have otherwise been. These steps we recommend or not made lightly and they're made in a time. But I'm accustomed to in the emergency department where information is not what we wanted to be. But you have to be quick and aggressive and making the decisions you think are the best possible ones to get ahead of the present situation. And so I'm very grateful to the governor into his entire larger team for responding so constructively to those I would like to draw attention every time you've seen us. And we brought a lot of people up on stage. I was on a live broadcast show last night. I hope the community of Kentucky observes how people are coming together and how everyone is working together to address this. We all recognize the uncertainty. We all know people are concerned. We're all messaging calm and the need to have confidence in the efforts were taking because we believe that the team together will find a way to mitigate this or reduce the impact of this as much as we possibly can. Reducing the impact doesn't mean eliminating the impact, however, in the best chance to reduce it to the maximum amount is they enlist all of your help and support. So as we continue to release new guidance, I urge and ask you to go to our website on a daily basis. The websites probably being broadcast, but it's K y covert 19 dot k y dot gov. I really urge you to go there and look. There will be daily updates. There would be updates specific to your particular community or population, often added daily or multiple times a day. Please go there it Please express your appreciation and gratitude to those you know are working in the response efforts. And please, we keep telling you these things, but we tell you because they work, please do things like washing your hands for 20 seconds, at least with soap and water using hand sanitizer when you don't have those things covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue staying home if you're sick or in keeping your kids home. If they're sick. And as we make recommendations for more substantial distancing activities such as the governor mentioned earlier, please no, they're not made lightly. Please work with us to make them effective. If we do these things, we're hopeful that the current evidence around the country and around the world shows they can have a positive impact. And if we do them promptly, we have the best chance of reducing the impact of the disease. So thank you for all of your assistance is we respond to this before we open it up to questions like Dr Stack, I do want to thank the media for making sure that in just about each and every story we get out the practices that people can take to mitigate both their chances for getting the Corona virus and for spreading it. That's that good hygiene. And I just remind everybody that it's really important that we were mindful of what a what a tweet can look like without being in context and and that fax in context really matter to make sure that we're giving people the overall picture that tells them to remain calm. We appreciate how that information has gotten out, and we think that that has helped people in Kentucky to know what they should do. So with that, we'll take questions. Road one. Well, you're right. Oh, I would I would I would recommend the people right now start avoiding large gatherings and and that would include those service's again. I know that there's gonna be some some pushback on it on. And I hope, given that what this job is and how I got it, that people understand that I wouldn't recommend it if I did not believe that it was necessary. And especially when you look at at our church is we do have higher senior populations in them. Those with medical conditions make sure they get to church oftentimes on the weekends. I know as I look around my church, I want to make sure that we protect so many of the folks that go richness, handwashing requires, Oh, but with buildings, I have hot water right away. How important is hot warm water? Let the medical professional answer that one soap water, regardless of the temperature will be sufficient for this purpose. So, um, the other thing, I'm just going to mention the social distancing item of staying about six feet away from each other. We're not recommending you can't go grocery shopping. We're not recommending you can't go purchase things that you need is long as we just allow extra space between each other and we use proper hygiene. We can still go about our daily activities, and you can still support your local businesses and get the materials you need for being at home as long as we just take these steps to have more social distancing. So just be very self aware and encourage others to do the same thing. And those steps, while they seem really simple, are really powerful. If we all do them go over there, eggs are back already. Why not? Of sweet 16? Well, there's there's the recommendations that were giving today, and obviously there will be more as we go forward. We have a whole lot of people in Kentucky that whether it's a community event on dhe, these air all community events and meetings that were making the recommendation for I just know that Certainly, by the time we get to Sunday, the most common thing that people in Kentucky would go to would be their there. Church service, I will say, for the SEC tournament or any other. Certainly. Look at that. CDC guidelines Anyone over 60 on anyone who is in the vulnerable population of heart, lung or kidney disease should not go, I believe should not go. That's what the CDC is saying. Avoid those large crowds. That is the guidance of the experts that are out there. Okay, you're right. Well, I'm not going to criticize anybody's reaction to the Corona virus, given that they are operating on some of the same information that we are. We're not yet ready to recommend the type of action that the Maria took, but they took aggressive action on dhe. We're not gonna We're not gonna criticize them whatsoever for doing that. Yes. So we're putting out guidance later this afternoon. Later today on the capital. You will be seeing us taking steps throughout the day, and we'll have those for you. Andi, we're already doing extra cleanings in the capital before this is you notice we're spread out a little bit more than we would normally be. We're gonna be communicating with leadership. What some of those steps are are going to be one will be that we're gonna close the cafeteria seating area, not the actual service in the cafeteria itself. But that is just a densely packed place. Just like businesses are recommending that they closed their cafeteria seating and that people eat at their desk, there's gonna be a number of other steps, and we're gonna be thoughtful about how we move forward. We ought to be modeling behavior here at the Capitol that we want other people thio to engage in happy a part of election on inauguration, a slot open. You said this is everyone's capital. Well, today's recommendations later today. No, they won't. Now we would highly recommend that if you were sick. You do not come into the capital because you shouldn't be leaving your home. But what we're gonna do is try Thio put in recommendations that have that same type of social distancing that they take our physical setups in the various rooms that we have on try to adjust to that social distancing. Now this is still everybody's capital. But as we have to make some tough decisions. Everybody understand we're in a state of emergency and that while everybody should remain calm, we want to make sure that we don't have a spike in this Corona virus while we will see more positive cases and everybody ought to be prepared for that. We want to mitigate the long term impact and protect the health of our citizens. In this life. Any case is over way. Haven't gotten any more tests back since yesterday. So yesterday's last batch was 20 tests, two positives, 18 negative. We'll have the next round of results at the end of today. Oh, and I don't know that we will. We will have tests today on I don't want to presume how they will come out, but as we move forward, we will absolutely have more positive tests and we have to prepare for that. There's gonna be more positive tests in Kentucky. The order on long term care facilities include assisted living here. The state doesn't actually operate assisted living facilities, but the guidance applies. We We would anticipate that assisted living facilities would follow the gods for long term care. And if I can make one more plug for the website. All of this guidance is up there. Guidance for people who are who are helping loved ones or friends and self isolation. Guidance for counties that have a case. Guidance for our prisons and jails is gonna be up here. So we gotta drive people to Kentucky. Covert 19 dot com At this time, I think we shared all the information we can there, though we have at least a connection between each of those five individuals were hoping that we can flush that out more as as more information becomes available to us. The epidemiologists are working on that right now. You know, we go, that that's that's absolutely true that we cannot. We cannot determine that she was the first person, and she probably wasn't who that first at this time we do not, and we may learn that. But we also may not, given that this is now community spread. Ah, large part of what we're going to be doing is mitigation, as opposed to simply tracing, knowing that it is already in the community. It's how do we keep it from spreading further in the community? New recommendations for or with you at this time. We don't have any other recommendations on airports, except that if you fall within the CDC guidelines of being over 60 or being a part of the vulnerable population don't fly. I think they suggest you don't fly. I'm saying Don't fly. Somebody was quickest for I'm not. I don't think that we have that number because it is a collaborative effort between the treating clinicians on our department for public health Now, well, there is there. People who request that test from their doctor and their doctor says you don't fall in to any of the symptoms. There's last Dr Stack. So the question is, how many people have been denied testing for covert 19 by the department, and I don't have that answers. I stand here, but I think that the no you can't and the answer is very clear for that. We're using the test capacity that is available in the country at this time to the greatest possible Impact. And the epidemiologist are busy talking to people on the phones all the time, trying to find out who needs testing and who doesn't. So there'll be time at a later point to be able to go over how many people called in, how many people got the test right now, the teams focused on helping as many people as it possibly can. So I support my team and doing what they need to do to keep the people in Kentucky as safe as we're able. Now. I want him to be very clear when I say this when we want everybody to be able to have a test, who has concerns and when the commercial industry gets up to speed and provides that resource than people will be able to get that test. The governor has taken steps to waive copays and ensure that insurance companies cover the testing. When the commercial industry makes the resource available, the resource will be made available to the people of Kentucky. The resource is not currently generally available and therefore I have an obligation to support the team and using it to the greatest effect to keep the people in Kentucky safe, you right state funding. So with the state of emergency, we do have the ability both to tap into a four and 1/2 $1,000,000 appropriation that is in the current year budget. We also have the ability. If if our costs exceed that to spend from the budget reserve trust fund and any surplus, I believe we will have the funding needed. But I've also been assured by legislative leadership that they are ready to help in whatever way they can. Story look working. If you fall within the CDC guidelines of being over 60 or being a part of the vulnerable population, having kidney, heart or lung disease or having a compromised immune system don't go right. It's well, we're getting different information on that every day. There are two national labs that we believe are up and running, but that doesn't mean that they have their capacity up and online. Oftentimes we're told weeks or within a week. But then we hear contradictory information. Our hope is that it happens as soon as possible, but we don't wanna We don't want to give people information, suggesting it's gonna be here before it is that makes these mitigation steps that were taking so incredibly important. And once there is widespread testing, we're gonna learn a lot about how it spreads and and we're gonna At that point, I'm sure that we're gonna have different steps that we will take. Maybe we will be able to suspend steps that we're taking. But given the information that we have and the resource is we have right now and what we're calling mitigation, taking those steps to prevent the spread of the virus is the most important thing that we can do college not recommend. That's where, as if as of today, we're not. I know that they have had conversations about steps that they may take. We're communicating with them on that. We've been providing new guidance every day. I'm sure we'll have new steps tomorrow and the day after that as well. But But as we're sitting here today, we're not making that recommendation as we're standing here today. As a practical matter, if you have a lecture hall, be advisable until people too, absolutely spread out. Andi, we're gonna be working on that here in the capital. So if classes are going to go forward on dhe, there is certainly space spread out. If you could move something to a larger whole, that's a smaller class spread out. If you got a couple seats between you, you're gonna be at the at the six feet distance. That's helpful. If you could do a class by A by a tele, tell a zoom is that is O. R or any other options. Do it, I would say Go ahead and do it. I know that it is not a direct substitute for the for the interaction, but but it is important that we start engaging in the social distancing that we can. And again, it's gonna be a disruption and an annoyance to our daily lives. But we are going to get through this. It's important that everybody remain calm, and I said this before. But if we engage in a type of panic where we don't take care of are homebound seniors where we don't act compassionately to each other, that fear will cause more damage than this virus ever could. So Kentucky ends. We have been through things like this before, and we will make it through this one, too. Good morning. This is our 9 a.m. A little more like 9:15 a.m. update on the Corona virus in Kentucky. Like each day, we will go through the number of cases in Kentucky. We will go through the steps we have taken, and we're gonna announce some new steps today. Like we've announced just about every other day. Eso um We announced yesterday afternoon that currently in Kentucky, we have eight positive cases. Five are in Harrison County. Two are in Fayette County. One is in Jefferson County. The way those breakdown is, we have four in isolation in a hospital. We have four in isolation at home. The good news is that all eight to our knowledge, our stable are doing well. And a couple of these individuals may almost be through this, and that is very, very good news. To date, we have had 54 tests, 46 have been negative and eight have been positive. But we here in the state are very intentionally being aggressive and how we address the Corona virus. That is both to try to prevent cases to prevent a spike in cases which we have seen in other areas and to get more time. As the different labs and other possibilities come online, it's important that everybody out there remain calm. We're going to get through this. Yes, there will be a distant disruptions in our daily lives, and we've already instituted steps that are disruptions. These will be annoyances. I get that. But it's incredibly important that we take these steps, that we practice good hygiene and that we protect one another. And we have to get through this with compassion, making sure that are homebound. Seniors are still taken care off, making sure that we still provide the essential service is to our people. And after someone has tested positive and has gone through the self isolation period has had those two negative tests and thankfully is able to step out of that isolation. We need to treat them like everybody else in this state. As a recap. Steps we have taken here in the Commonwealth include the state of emergency, which I called, which gives us all the tools under state law to address the spread of the Corona virus, we've activated the State Health Operations Center and the Emergency Management Operations Center. We have called Just tell the call yesterday with all 120 county judges and their emergency management folks to discuss the emergency manage network to give them an update on this and to talk with them and answer any questions. We've initiated changes to Medicaid, including eliminating prior authorization and any type of fees associated with testing or treatment on the Corona virus. I filed an executive order to waive copays and other costs related to private insurers that we have that type of power and control over. They issued an executive order to prohibit price gouging, and I've asked Attorney General Daniel Cameron to enforce the price gouging laws. If anyone has information regarding possible price gouging, they should contact the office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Hotline at 88843 to 9 to 57 We have issued gardens on our website. This is the source in Kentucky for reliable information. There's a reason we have this website and not a lot of other social media or other points. We need to drive everyone to this one resource. It's K y Cove in 19 dot k y dot gov Kyi Cove. It 19 dot k y dot gov. It provides an update on tests positive cases, and it provides updates on the guidance that we have provided and at the CDC has provided we have a Corona virus. Hot line up and running 1 807 2257 to 51 807 2257 to 5. We've put out guidance and an infographic on when to see care. That means if you're well but nervous, call the hotline. Don't flood are health systems. It means that if you are sick but otherwise would not have sought medical attention if but for the Corona virus again, make a call. Don't flood that health care system. But if you are truly sick on, would have sought attention. Otherwise, If you have an injury where you need medical attention, please go get it. We've published the CDC guidelines with their warnings, and it's important that we repeat them every time that we do this. Individuals over 60 do not go places where there are large crowds. We need you to alter the times that you would do your grocery shopping or or other interactions with those large crowds. It's It's very important guidance and individuals that appear vulnerable to this Corona virus, which right now we believe our folks that have heart, lung or kidney disease or a compromised immune system again follow that same advice, do not go places that there are large crowds. And for these vulnerable populations and those over 60 uh, do not fly. Please do not get on a cruise ship for any reason whatsoever. That's the same guidance that the leading expert in the United States is giving every single time that he has interviewed. We provided strong guidance advising nursing homes and long term care facilities to restrict visitors except an end of life situations. And we and state run facilities are are restricting visitation. We know that this is gonna be difficult, that we want to be able to check on our loved ones, and we want to make sure they're getting the care that they need. We're stepping up our inspections from our Office of Inspector General in C. H. F s to try to make sure that all of those needs are being met in the proper care is being given. And while it's gonna be hard for many people not to see a loved one during this period of time. What could happen if this Corona virus gets into one of those facilities can be devastating, as we see in Seattle. And it's my job to protect the health and life of those individuals, especially the most vulnerable. So please understand this is gonna be hard, but understand how important it is that we restrict that visitation. We've asked business to prepare telework options and adopt paid sick leave. We're already seeing some national employers do that. State employers, please look at that option. We believe that it is necessary A signed an executive order that allows pharmacist to refill prescriptions up to 30 days. And if we need to stage pharmacy areas outside of the normal pharmacy that is on the license will have the ability to do that, too. And we've issued guidance from our personnel cabinet regarding personnel protocols for state employees. We want in government to be a model of what we're asking others to do. So we're ensuring that everybody in state government has the sick leave that they need in state government. You accrue your number of sick days. By how long you've been working in state government, and that's a problem, because if we have someone that is sick, that hasn't accrued those days, they need to be able to have that paid leave. And we're We've already put out the guidance and the directive that we are providing that so new steps that we're providing today and and there are a number of these steps again, while we only have eight cases, we know that this is community spread, and we think it's very important to get ahead of it. First, we're closing all of our state prisons and similar facilities to visitors. This is a step that other states are taking, and we believe, given the confined space that it is necessary. I'm gonna ask Judge Noble in a minute to talk about some other things we're going to do to make sure those prisoners still contact their loved ones, which means I believe some additional free calls, Andi, other opportunities. We know that it's gonna be hard again on families and on prisoners where that visit is so important. But this is about protecting their health, the health of our corrections officers and making sure that we get through this. We will be talking to our jailers today on a call here and a little bit. We're gonna be providing them similar guidance. We're asking our schools and school systems and we will have a call with our superintendents later to develop plans to be able to close on short notice if necessary. Now, that could be a short as 72 hours. And while we are not there yet, it is very possible that in the future we're gonna have to ask schools in Kentucky to close down for a period of time. We want to be prepared. We want to make sure that if we do, that kid's still get the meals that they desperately need and the care that they need while this Corona virus does not appear to affect Children and that is really good news. If you're the dad of a nine and a 10 year old, the number of people that are kids can interact with means we've got to be very thoughtful about what we do. As far as the school system forgiven everybody, some more aggressive guidance today on crowds, we are recommending that every individual in Kentucky do what they can to minimize their interaction and going to large meetings or groups that includes community service is. So I'll announced today that we're going to cancel the prayer breakfast now that we were gonna have this week. You know, faith is very important to make this prayer. Breakfast is very important to make, but the life and health of our people is Maur is just It's important to May. I don't believe that whether you go to church during this period of time is a test of faith. I believe God gives us wisdom to protect each other, and we should do that. And I'm going to recommend that our churches across Kentucky cancel their service is for this weekend again. I know that that's a big step. I know that some won't agree with it, but I believe that it's it's our job toe offer those protections that we have a lot of opportunity for. Virtual service's. I know those out there that that that that would otherwise go have an opportunity to get out that Bible Lord or whatever it is of their faith that gives them guidance and ensure that they have that time with their family this weekend where in their own home they can. They can practice their faith and worship. We are going to suspend non essential travel for state employees, and we're gonna recommend that businesses do the same and that is any out of state travel. Um, we're going to go ahead and recommend that employers institute tele work where they can. This is getting ahead as trying to prevent the spread and ensure that the entire health care system has the time to be fully ready. I believe that we are ready, but we want to make sure that we can service everyone. Ultimately that needs our help. And we'll be providing guidance for steps that we're taking in the capital a little later today. As you can see, the chairs are a little more spread out here, and we're gonna be taking steps like that as we move forward. So I know that is a number of new steps, and we're gonna hear new steps every single day. I'd remind people that we learn something new about this virus just about every day, and so we're gonna have to be fluid and flexible and how we adjust. But once again. We're gonna be okay. We're gonna make it through this. I'm gonna try to continue to lead with information to provide updates once or even multiple times a day. I can tell you that despite an SEC tournament this weekend, I'm gonna be right here because that's where I need to be. Making sure that we are continuing to provide the updates and the guidance that we need. We will get through this Kentucky, all of our families. We will get through this. It's okay to be nervous and to be prepared. But do not panic. Stay calm. We're going to make it for those that have concerns about not being able to find hand sanitizer, Remember, soap and water is better. Wash your hands multiple times a day, every day. Clean surfaces throughout your house in your place of business. If you're having trouble finding commercial cleaners, a 1 100 bleach solution we believe is very effective. And make sure that if you are sick, do not go toe work. Now there are two things in this that we should all want being good neighbors to each other. Number one is that we want to protect ourselves and our families. But number two is. We should not want to spread this to anybody else because so many people are asymptomatic who haven't. And remember that if your kid is sick, they need to stay home from school as well that while right now it doesn't appear to impact Children. And we'll learn more about that are in the same way that it does other adults. That doesn't mean that your child couldn't go to school. It be spread and ultimately someone else be infected with it. So all of these are aggressive steps. But we believe that they are necessary steps that will help us to ultimately move through this. Now, I'm gonna first ask that Secretary Noble come up and talk a little bit about our closure to visitation of our state prison and other similar institutions. Secretary Noble, sir. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Some of you may have noticed that I moved two steps away from Secretary Friedlander. That's because I realized I was not maintaining proper social distance. This is an important thing for us to be aware of into that end, every step that the governor is taken and consequently, every step that his Cabinet secretaries are taking is because we care deeply about the health and welfare of the citizens of Kentucky, and some of those citizens are confined in our institutions because they are confined. They are our responsibility and we're trying very hard. I don't think anybody can ensure about this virus, but to do our best to maintain their health in that closed environment. To that end, we did decide that it was the best thing to do to stop outside visitation. And that's a very hard decision to make, because for confined person, seeing your family and friends on that weekly visit is very important. But here's another important fact. Our confined people love their families and friends, and they don't want them exposed to the virus either. So we're working together with the folks in our institutions to temporarily suspend this visitation. We don't know how long, but not a day longer than we have to to assist in this process. We're going to provide them with a free phone call each week and up to two I believe, contacts through a controlled social media source. It's not the same as seeing them in the flesh we know that, but it is a good option. We believe it this time to keep contact with friends and family were all working together, and I'm really appreciative of the help that we're getting from those that are confined themselves. Next we'll hear from our public health commissioner, and I know I say this each and every day. But he's doing an amazing job, and his people are working harder than I think any of us could have ever imagined to address this. I know that well, I haven't slept a lot in the past four or five days that they have been truly heroes in what they're doing, as have our local health departments. Let me reiterate how proud I am of the steps Harrison County has taken how they have all come together, the good decisions that they made the importance of Wed Co. Which is their local health department serving a number of counties. Their local newspaper, which put together 18,000 extras to put in people's mail box. Now that that county is going through a tough time, but their leadership has been steady, they have reached out to every individual in their community. They're gonna be the model I believe of of how we communicate on address this when you have a number of positive tests in one county. So now, Dr Steven Stack, Thank you. Thank you. Governor and I would like to thank the governor. His leadership in his support has made this response so much better than it could have otherwise been. These steps we recommend or not made lightly and they're made in a time. But I'm accustomed to in the emergency department where information is not what we wanted to be. But you have to be quick and aggressive and making the decisions you think are the best possible ones to get ahead of the present situation. And so I'm very grateful to the governor into his entire larger team for responding so constructively to those I would like to draw attention every time you've seen us. And we brought a lot of people up on stage. I was on a live broadcast show last night. I hope the community of Kentucky observes how people are coming together and how everyone is working together to address this. We all recognize the uncertainty. We all know people are concerned. We're all messaging calm and the need to have confidence in the efforts were taking because we believe that the team together will find a way to mitigate this or reduce the impact of this as much as we possibly can. Reducing the impact doesn't mean eliminating the impact, however, in the best chance to reduce it to the maximum amount is they enlist all of your help and support. So as we continue to release new guidance, I urge and ask you to go to our website on a daily basis. The websites probably being broadcast, but it's K y covert 19 dot k y dot gov. I really urge you to go there and look. There will be daily updates. There would be updates specific to your particular community or population, often added daily or multiple times a day. Please go there it Please express your appreciation and gratitude to those you know are working in the response efforts. And please, we keep telling you these things, but we tell you because they work, please do things like washing your hands for 20 seconds, at least with soap and water using hand sanitizer when you don't have those things covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue staying home if you're sick or in keeping your kids home. If they're sick. And as we make recommendations for more substantial distancing activities such as the governor mentioned earlier, please no, they're not made lightly. Please work with us to make them effective. If we do these things, we're hopeful that the current evidence around the country and around the world shows they can have a positive impact. And if we do them promptly, we have the best chance of reducing the impact of the disease. So thank you for all of your assistance is we respond to this before we open it up to questions like Dr Stack, I do want to thank the media for making sure that in just about each and every story we get out the practices that people can take to mitigate both their chances for getting the Corona virus and for spreading it. That's that good hygiene. And I just remind everybody that it's really important that we were mindful of what a what a tweet can look like without being in context and and that fax in context really matter to make sure that we're giving people the overall picture that tells them to remain calm. We appreciate how that information has gotten out, and we think that that has helped people in Kentucky to know what they should do. So with that, we'll take questions. Road one. Well, you're right. Oh, I would I would I would recommend the people right now start avoiding large gatherings and and that would include those service's again. I know that there's gonna be some some pushback on it on. And I hope, given that what this job is and how I got it, that people understand that I wouldn't recommend it if I did not believe that it was necessary. And especially when you look at at our church is we do have higher senior populations in them. Those with medical conditions make sure they get to church oftentimes on the weekends. I know as I look around my church, I want to make sure that we protect so many of the folks that go richness, handwashing requires, Oh, but with buildings, I have hot water right away. How important is hot warm water? Let the medical professional answer that one soap water, regardless of the temperature will be sufficient for this purpose. So, um, the other thing, I'm just going to mention the social distancing item of staying about six feet away from each other. We're not recommending you can't go grocery shopping. We're not recommending you can't go purchase things that you need is long as we just allow extra space between each other and we use proper hygiene. We can still go about our daily activities, and you can still support your local businesses and get the materials you need for being at home as long as we just take these steps to have more social distancing. So just be very self aware and encourage others to do the same thing. And those steps, while they seem really simple, are really powerful. If we all do them go over there, eggs are back already. Why not? Of sweet 16? Well, there's there's the recommendations that were giving today, and obviously there will be more as we go forward. We have a whole lot of people in Kentucky that whether it's a community event on dhe, these air all community events and meetings that were making the recommendation for I just know that Certainly, by the time we get to Sunday, the most common thing that people in Kentucky would go to would be their there. Church service, I will say, for the SEC tournament or any other. Certainly. Look at that. CDC guidelines Anyone over 60 on anyone who is in the vulnerable population of heart, lung or kidney disease should not go, I believe should not go. That's what the CDC is saying. Avoid those large crowds. That is the guidance of the experts that are out there. Okay, you're right. Well, I'm not going to criticize anybody's reaction to the Corona virus, given that they are operating on some of the same information that we are. We're not yet ready to recommend the type of action that the Maria took, but they took aggressive action on dhe. We're not gonna We're not gonna criticize them whatsoever for doing that. Yes. So we're putting out guidance later this afternoon. Later today on the capital. You will be seeing us taking steps throughout the day, and we'll have those for you. Andi, we're already doing extra cleanings in the capital before this is you notice we're spread out a little bit more than we would normally be. We're gonna be communicating with leadership. What some of those steps are are going to be one will be that we're gonna close the cafeteria seating area, not the actual service in the cafeteria itself. But that is just a densely packed place. Just like businesses are recommending that they closed their cafeteria seating and that people eat at their desk, there's gonna be a number of other steps, and we're gonna be thoughtful about how we move forward. We ought to be modeling behavior here at the Capitol that we want other people thio to engage in happy a part of election on inauguration, a slot open. You said this is everyone's capital. Well, today's recommendations later today. No, they won't. Now we would highly recommend that if you were sick. You do not come into the capital because you shouldn't be leaving your home. But what we're gonna do is try Thio put in recommendations that have that same type of social distancing that they take our physical setups in the various rooms that we have on try to adjust to that social distancing. Now this is still everybody's capital. But as we have to make some tough decisions. Everybody understand we're in a state of emergency and that while everybody should remain calm, we want to make sure that we don't have a spike in this Corona virus while we will see more positive cases and everybody ought to be prepared for that. We want to mitigate the long term impact and protect the health of our citizens. In this life. Any case is over way. Haven't gotten any more tests back since yesterday. So yesterday's last batch was 20 tests, two positives, 18 negative. We'll have the next round of results at the end of today. Oh, and I don't know that we will. We will have tests today on I don't want to presume how they will come out, but as we move forward, we will absolutely have more positive tests and we have to prepare for that. There's gonna be more positive tests in Kentucky. The order on long term care facilities include assisted living here. The state doesn't actually operate assisted living facilities, but the guidance applies. We We would anticipate that assisted living facilities would follow the gods for long term care. And if I can make one more plug for the website. All of this guidance is up there. Guidance for people who are who are helping loved ones or friends and self isolation. Guidance for counties that have a case. Guidance for our prisons and jails is gonna be up here. So we gotta drive people to Kentucky. Covert 19 dot com At this time, I think we shared all the information we can there, though we have at least a connection between each of those five individuals were hoping that we can flush that out more as as more information becomes available to us. The epidemiologists are working on that right now. You know, we go, that that's that's absolutely true that we cannot. We cannot determine that she was the first person, and she probably wasn't who that first at this time we do not, and we may learn that. But we also may not, given that this is now community spread. Ah, large part of what we're going to be doing is mitigation, as opposed to simply tracing, knowing that it is already in the community. It's how do we keep it from spreading further in the community? New recommendations for or with you at this time. We don't have any other recommendations on airports, except that if you fall within the CDC guidelines of being over 60 or being a part of the vulnerable population don't fly. I think they suggest you don't fly. I'm saying Don't fly. Somebody was quickest for I'm not. I don't think that we have that number because it is a collaborative effort between the treating clinicians on our department for public health Now, well, there is there. People who request that test from their doctor and their doctor says you don't fall in to any of the symptoms. There's last Dr Stack. So the question is, how many people have been denied testing for covert 19 by the department, and I don't have that answers. I stand here, but I think that the no you can't and the answer is very clear for that. We're using the test capacity that is available in the country at this time to the greatest possible Impact. And the epidemiologist are busy talking to people on the phones all the time, trying to find out who needs testing and who doesn't. So there'll be time at a later point to be able to go over how many people called in, how many people got the test right now, the teams focused on helping as many people as it possibly can. So I support my team and doing what they need to do to keep the people in Kentucky as safe as we're able. Now. I want him to be very clear when I say this when we want everybody to be able to have a test, who has concerns and when the commercial industry gets up to speed and provides that resource than people will be able to get that test. The governor has taken steps to waive copays and ensure that insurance companies cover the testing. When the commercial industry makes the resource available, the resource will be made available to the people of Kentucky. The resource is not currently generally available and therefore I have an obligation to support the team and using it to the greatest effect to keep the people in Kentucky safe, you right state funding. So with the state of emergency, we do have the ability both to tap into a four and 1/2 $1,000,000 appropriation that is in the current year budget. We also have the ability. If if our costs exceed that to spend from the budget reserve trust fund and any surplus, I believe we will have the funding needed. But I've also been assured by legislative leadership that they are ready to help in whatever way they can. Story look working. If you fall within the CDC guidelines of being over 60 or being a part of the vulnerable population, having kidney, heart or lung disease or having a compromised immune system don't go right. It's well, we're getting different information on that every day. There are two national labs that we believe are up and running, but that doesn't mean that they have their capacity up and online. Oftentimes we're told weeks or within a week. But then we hear contradictory information. Our hope is that it happens as soon as possible, but we don't wanna We don't want to give people information, suggesting it's gonna be here before it is that makes these mitigation steps that were taking so incredibly important. And once there is widespread testing, we're gonna learn a lot about how it spreads and and we're gonna At that point, I'm sure that we're gonna have different steps that we will take. Maybe we will be able to suspend steps that we're taking. But given the information that we have and the resource is we have right now and what we're calling mitigation, taking those steps to prevent the spread of the virus is the most important thing that we can do college not recommend. That's where, as if as of today, we're not. I know that they have had conversations about steps that they may take. We're communicating with them on that. We've been providing new guidance every day. I'm sure we'll have new steps tomorrow and the day after that as well. But But as we're sitting here today, we're not making that recommendation as we're standing here today. As a practical matter, if you have a lecture hall, be advisable until people too, absolutely spread out. Andi, we're gonna be working on that here in the capital. So if classes are going to go forward on dhe, there is certainly space spread out. If you could move something to a larger whole, that's a smaller class spread out. If you got a couple seats between you, you're gonna be at the at the six feet distance. That's helpful. If you could do a class by A by a tele, tell a zoom is that is O. R or any other options. Do it, I would say Go ahead and do it. I know that it is not a direct substitute for the for the interaction, but but it is important that we start engaging in the social distancing that we can. And again, it's gonna be a disruption and an annoyance to our daily lives. But we are going to get through this. It's important that everybody remain calm, and I said this before. But if we engage in a type of panic where we don't take care of are homebound seniors where we don't act compassionately to each other, that fear will cause more damage than this virus ever could. So Kentucky ends. We have been through things like this before, and we will make it through this one, too.

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