The Kentucky Derby, the commonwealth's signature event, will be delayed until September as state and local officials look to tamp down the spread of the new coronavirus that officially claimed its first victim here.

The 146th running of America's premier horse race will be pushed back, sources told The Courier Journal, with Churchill Downs officials expected to announce a new race date of Sept. 5.

Word of the delay came the same day that Gov. Andy Beshear and officials tightened the clamps on bars and restaurants and bumped the state's primary election back to June.

“Whether you agree or disagree, I’m doing everything I can to protect our people," Beshear said Monday.

"I know it’s tough on everybody. But we can do this."

The commonwealth's first recorded COVID-19 fatality was a 66-year-old man from Bourbon County with complicating health issues, Beshear said. He died Sunday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that older adults and those with underlying serious chronic medical conditions, including heart disease and diabetes, are at a higher risk of developing serious illness from COVID-19. That puts Kentucky, with its higher rates of residents with those health conditions, at greater risk.

Kentucky coronavirus live updates: Get the latest information here

More:How you can help save Louisville businesses and restaurants during the coronavirus outbreak

Across Kentucky, there were 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Monday night, according to Beshear. Of those, seven are in Jefferson County.

Determined to try to keep the numbers from quickly ballooning, Beshear announced the order for restaurants and bars to stop in-person service in favor of carryout, drive-thru and delivery. Beshear said he's mindful of the economic effect on small businesses.

He also announced he's waiving the waiting period to obtain unemployment insurance benefits and waiving work search requirements.

"We know the steps we are taking are going to cause people to lose their jobs,” Beshear said. “We want you to be able to qualify for unemployment, and we don’t want to create impediments that keep you from being able to get through this."

The announcements were among several significant developments Monday in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic:

Child care centers were instructed to close by the end of the day Friday, with exceptions for children of health care workers.

Kentucky’s primary elections have been pushed from May 19 to June 23.

Kentucky’s Capitol will close to nonessential personnel starting Tuesday.

The Kentucky legislature will continue with its lawmaking session as scheduled but plans to limit public access to the proceedings.

LG&E will stop turning off service for nonpayment through at least May 1 and will waive new late fees incurred during that period.

Keeneland has canceled its spring meet.

The Archdiocese of Louisville has suspended celebrating Mass in Louisville, effective immediately.

All YMCA of Greater Louisville locations will temporarily close, effective close of business Monday through March 29.

The Louisville Zoo will temporarily close starting Tuesday. A reopening date has not been determined.

Read this:Who is eligible and how to apply for unemployment during coronavirus

Late Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised gatherings of more than 50 people be canceled for the next eight weeks.

During a Monday news conference, President Donald Trump cut that group limit to no more than 10.

With closures and event delays increasing by the day, Dr. Sarah Moyer, Louisville's chief health strategist, said Monday that taking serious action now may ease stress on the health care system and prevent more drastic orders, such as requiring residents to shelter in place.

"The reason why we’re implementing all these drastic social distancing measures is to make sure our health care system can have the surge capacity to respond," Moyer said.

Bars, restaurants shifting to drive-thru, delivery model

Beshear's order on bars and restaurants took effect at 5 p.m. Monday, and restaurateurs girded themselves for the fallout.

"Many restaurants will close. We will do our best to stay open and keep moving forward," said chef Dallas McGarity, owner of The Fat Lamb, 2011 Grinstead Drive.

"This is going to be an incredibly difficult adjustment for local restaurants. We are taking today and tomorrow to get organized and hope you will support us and other small businesses as we attempt to navigate these changes. We will return to business as usual as soon as we can."

Beshear's announcement came one day after the governors of Ohio and Illinois decided to temporarily close their state's bars and restaurants.

Soon after Beshear's announcement, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that his state's restaurants, bars and nightclubs must close to in-person customers and may only offer takeout and delivery through the end of the month.

Read more on this: Louisville restaurants brace for coronavirus sales slump

On Sunday, Beshear, irked at the large bar gatherings during St. Patrick's Day weekend, threatened to close down public gatherings, including bars and restaurants, if Kentuckians do not stop congregating.

"I'm not going to be the governor who acted two weeks too late," Beshear said at the time.

Some other cities and states, including New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland and Los Angeles, have extended their restaurant and bar closures to also include movie theaters, gyms and casinos.

Asked Monday whether he would order movie theaters or gyms to close, Beshear said, "We'll talk about that tomorrow."

Restaurants moving to solely carryout and takeout orders has ripple effects beyond owners and service employees.

"This is bigger than, 'Oh, there are some restaurants that close,'" said Chad Coulter, owner of the LouVino and Biscuit Belly restaurants. "It goes back to everyone we buy from, everyone we serve and everyone who gets money from the people we serve. There's so many people affected by the hospitality industry."

Coronavirus tracker:How many cases are in Kentucky? Where are they?

JCPS mulling longer closure

The rising threat of COVID-19 has Jefferson County Public Schools facing a "strong possibility" of longer school closures — and potentially starting distance learning — Superintendent Marty Pollio said Monday.

Right now, Kentucky's largest district is treating its time off from classes like snow days — students don't have lessons and will need to make up the days at the end of the year.

“We know there is a strong possibility that being out of school will last much longer than April 6," Pollio said. "We are preparing for that.”

District officials plan to ask the JCPS school board to waive four days for the closure, since JCPS goes to school longer than the state requires. If that happens, JCPS' last day will land on June 4.

If not, the last day will be June 10.

Superintendent Marty Pollio:'Strong possibility' of longer JCPS school closure

Grocery stores working to restock

As virus threats loomed, groceries continued to fly off Louisville store shelves on Monday, aided in part by Beshear's restaurants and bars restrictions.

Coronavirus fears have forced groceries to cut back their hours to keep up with restocking and cleaning. Kroger is limiting its hours to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Walmart is cutting back to 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

In the meantime, rows of empty aisles greeted many shoppers.

Sporting a dust mask, to which she had stapled a Clorox wipe, Patria Fielding said she had come in hopes of finding hand sanitizer at the Clifton Kroger.

A spokeswoman for Kroger sought to reassure shoppers that the grocery store would continue to restock what have become some its fastest-selling goods: bottled water, hand sanitizer, hand soap, cold and flu medicine, household cleaning products, paper goods, boxed dinners, soups and other at-home meal products.

The chain is hiring more workers to keep up with the rush.

At the St. Matthews Target, shoppers like Matt Johnson said they had slightly better luck finding toilet paper and other supplies.

Still, Johnson, who was shopping for his 85-year-old grandparents, said he encountered plenty of empty shelves.

In an emailed statement, the Kentucky Grocers and Convenience Store Association said grocery stores and suppliers were working around the clock to stock shelves.

“We urge consumers to purchase only what they need and not engage in ‘panic buying’ that can lead to disruptions in the supply chain,” said spokesman Steve McClain.

Read more:Grocery stores stay packed as Beshear suspends in-person dining

Leaders announce negative tests

In a bit of good news for local leaders, Mayor Greg Fischer and U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth said Monday they've tested negative for COVID-19.

The announcements came a day after news broke that they had attended the Speed Art Museum’s March 7 Speed Ball fundraiser, which was also attended by philanthropist Christy Brown and Kentucky Author Forum leader Mary Moss Greenebaum, both of whom have tested positive for COVID-19.

Beshear, another attendee, said Sunday he’d also tested negative.

Reporters Dahlia Ghabour, Olivia Krauth and Alfred Miller contributed to this report. Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com.