A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

COVID-19: Two more cases in NKY; 87 in KY and 7 deaths; free drive-thru testing in Kenton Co. Wed.


Two additional cases of COVID-19 and four new deaths have been identified in Northern Kentucky, for 208 total cases and 18 deaths total. There are 97 cases in Kenton County, 45 cases in Campbell County, 54 cases in Boone County and 12 cases in Grant County. The deaths were two Kenton County residents, in their 60s and 80s, and two Campbell County residents in their 80s. All four individuals had underlying medical conditions.

Gov. Andy Beshear reported 87 new cases and seven new deaths on Monday, raising the totals to 20,048 cases and 104 deaths.

Beshear ordered all flags at state buildings to be lowered to half-staff until sundown Monday, April 20.

“Every Kentuckian we lose is one of us,” the Governor said. “Even if a report is one or two, it is still a loss to all of us.”

Beshear said that a testing partnership is ramping up just as data is beginning to show Kentucky is flattening the curve in its fight against the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“Kentucky, you are flattening the curve,” the Governor said, pointing to data from the Kaiser Foundation showing the commonwealth doing better than its neighbors in confronting the coronavirus. “What that means is you are reducing the cases that we have now. You are saving lives.”

Free testing

Beshear said the first day of a partnership with Kroger aimed at launching drive-through testing was a success.

“Today went well,” the Governor said. “We tested 97 people.”

Beshear said Kentuckians in Franklin County and its contiguous counties can register for the next two days of testing at thelittleclinic.com/drivethru-testing, or by calling 888-852-2567 (select option 1, then option 3). He said they were hoping to get 200 or more tests done each of the next two days.

Beshear also announced a second drive-through testing site in partnership with Kroger would open Wednesday in Kenton County. The site has a daily testing goal of 250 a day and Kentuckians can sign up through the same website .

The testing is done free of charge. The overall goal of the partnership is to conduct 20,000 tests over the next five weeks. Test results are expected within approximately 48 hours.

Gov. Beshear thanked project partners Kroger Health, UPS, Gravity Diagnostics, Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, Kentucky Department for Public Health, Kentucky State Police, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Kentucky National Guard and Franklin County for helping make the project possible.

Unemployment Insurance

Beshear also urged everyone affected by unprecedented job losses to apply for unemployment benefits.

“Make sure you apply for benefits,” the Governor said. “While there is some frustration out there because we have seen more applications than ever in our history, yesterday, on Easter, the state processed 100,692 payments for $50.45 million. So these dollars are going out to help you.”

Contact tracing

“Contact tracing” is a term you may have heard recently. What exactly is contact tracing? According to Dr. Lynne Saddler, District Director of Health, “Contact tracing is an essential public health service that we provide for many infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Contact tracing involves tracking positive cases of COVID-19, identifying individuals who may have been exposed to a case, and contacting them to provide further instructions on actions they need to take for themselves and to protect others, such as quarantining and monitoring for symptoms.”

Contact tracing is not a new idea, but rather one of the many tools that NKY Health uses on a daily basis to prevent the spread of disease in the community.


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2 Comments

  1. Dave says:

    Hello! I’m hoping you can help. I am the owner of a sea kayaking company in Nova Scotia, and for some reason my phone number (888-852–2567) is listed as the contact number for the Kroger covid testing hotline. I’ve had a great time talking to people from Kentucky (and all over) this week- but I’m no help when it comes to covid tests.

    Can you help?

    -Dave (Lower Prospect, Nova Scotia)

    • Judy Clabes says:

      Sea kayaking sounds like fun for those of us isolated at home in Kentucky. We have removed your number from our story — later state releases did not use the number so we assume they got the message. So sorry for your inconvenience. We used the number we were given. We’ve marked you down for a dream destination if we can ever get out of this mess. Stay safe.

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