Gov. Beshear urging people to get COVID tested during the holidays

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - Governor Andy Beshear gave an update on COVID-19 and tornado damage.

The governor announced an infant from Graves County has died from injuries sustained from the tornado. This brings the official death toll to 77.

There have been more than 11,000 insurance claims have been filed and FEMA has given out $4.7 million in aid to families impacted.

The governor said cases are at what appears to be a plateau, but that could easily change with the omicron variant, and how cases after holidays tend to spike. This is why he is pushing for testing and recognizes there are long waits, and it could be a challenge for people to get an appointment.

He’s asking parents to get their children tested later this week before they go back to school next week. In the last week, over 2,700 children have contracted the virus.

He’s also recommending school districts consider having a system in place for students and staff to be tested, and that universal masking be implemented.

“Parents, we need you to get your kids tested right before they go back to school. Any school systems that want to do that. The same reason that we want to test ourselves before getting together with our families, ought to apply to kids before they get together with their classmates,” Gov. Beshear said.

According to the age breakdown for vaccinations, the 5 to 11 age group has the lowest rate in Kentucky at 16 percent. It’s up to 45 percent for 12- to 15-year-olds and 49 percent of 16- to 17-year-olds.

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