FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky released its guidance to keep students healthy at school as they return to classrooms or keep learning remotely this fall.

Education Commissioner Kevin Brown released some of these guidelines and best practices at a Wednesday press conference. Those include social distancing, requiring students and faculty to wear cloth face masks and utilizing local health departments' contact tracing with local health departments.

"If a student is moving, they need to have a mask on. If they are less than six feet, they need to have a mask on," Brown said.

Brown said school buses will be able to transport students at capacity, provided they are wearing masks, undergo temperature screenings or have "parental assurance" that their child does not have a fever of 100.4 degrees. Students will be screened at school as well. More specific guidance on pupil transportation will be released Thursday, Brown said.

Additionally, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman temporarily suspended the 10-day limit on nontraditional instruction (NTI) days and average daily attendance figures used to calculate state funding for the 2021 school year.

“Our school districts are developing models that work best for their unique communities, and this memorandum provides the flexibility they requested and they need,” Coleman said at Wednesday's press conference.

This also means some districts can allow students who don't wish to wear masks to learn remotely.

"I would leave it up to the school district as to how they choose to respond to these challenges, because it's gonna look different in every corner of Kentucky," Coleman said

On June 15, Beshear and Coleman said the state's "Education Continuation" task force, formed three months ago by parents, teachers, superintendents, school board members, coaches and other public education specialists, are currently creating new guidelines to be “Healthy at School.”

The task force would also work with each Kentucky community’s local school boards and health departments to find the best practices for bringing students back into classroom learning in the fall. At the time, Beshear said as children eventually begin in-person instruction again, parents should be prepared for potential intermittent school closures due to the virus.

"We are allowing the flexibility to school districts to resume educational services as they see fit," Coleman said, adding that some districts have already announced they will resume classes digitally while others are using a mix of digital learning and in-person instruction.

Ky. COVID-19 numbers

After Kentucky reported 11 new virus-related deaths Tuesday, another person has reportedly died of the virus Wednesday. That means a total of 538 people have reportedly died of COVID-19 out of 14,363 virus cases so far. More than 3,706 people have recovered from the virus, and the state has tested 368,152 people as of Wednesday.

NKY Health reported that 1,585 people in Boone, Campbell, Kenton and Grant counties have tested positive for coronavirus since March and 76 people have died of the virus as of Wednesday.

Kentucky will add another testing site in Kenton County next week after seeing “disturbing” numbers in Cincinnati and NKY, Beshear said. Kenton (741 cases) and Boone (580 cases) counties are currently in the top five highest case numbers, followed by Jefferson (Louisville, 3,682 cases) Warren (Bowling Green, 1,398 cases) and Fayette (Lexington, 1,240).

In long term care facilities, 1,698 residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and 339 residents have died. In those facilities, 812 staff have contracted COVID-19 and three have died as of Wednesday. Kentucky has extensively tested residents of long-term care facilities in recent weeks.

"While this is growing, this is becoming more stable," Beshear said.

To find one of the 205 free coronavirus testing locations in Kentucky, click here.

What's reopening in Kentucky?

Bars, wedding venues and youth sports can reopen and resume on Monday, June 29, Beshear said Monday.

With newly-released guidelines in place, public pools can reopen and gatherings of up to 50 people can also resume starting June 29.

Among the requirements for pool centers are social distancing and limited pool capacity. Any time their heads are above water, swimmers must maintain a distance of six feet from people who aren't from the same household. Seating at swimming facilities will also be spaced six feet apart, and pools are asked to encourage guests to bring their own seats whenever possible.

Many of the guidelines to host large events already apply to groups of 10 people or fewer, which have been allowed to resume in the commonwealth. Among the new guidelines are continuing to socially distance, wearing cloth masks, not sharing food or drinks and hosting events outside whenever possible.

See what else is reopening in Kentucky here.

Calls for better unemployment system

In the wake of closures due to coronavirus that prompted layoffs and furloughs, Kentucky's unemployment rate soared from 4.2% in February to 15.4% by April 2020. The state's unemployment insurance system struggled to keep up with the influx of claims.

In-person unemployment help will be available 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. by online appointment for the rest of the week at Frankfort's unemployment office. On Monday and Tuesday, in-person help will be Ashland and Owensboro from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. local time Monday. On July 7 and 8, you can find help at the Somerset and Hopkinsville offices. Details on how to make an appointment online will be available soon, Beshear said.

Labor Cabinet Secretary Larry Roberts will become the new commissioner for unemployment insurance and an outside communications and training vendor is being consulted to beef up Kentucky’s unemployment infrastructure and to train more unemployment adjudicators, Beshear said Tuesday.

This comes after dozens of people were turned away from unemployment offices Wednesday as they closed in Frankfort at 7 p.m. -- after they waited in line 10 hours in the sun.

"What an awful feeling that must have been," Beshear said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Those turned away were contacted Thursday morning, and 61 of the 67 who were turned away had their claims resolved as of 3:15 p.m., Beshear said.

On Thursday, Beshear said he wants to see better funding, more employees and more offices open to assist Kentuckians with pandemic and unemployment assistance going forward.

"We had a system that was designed to tell you 'no,' ... hoping you wouldn't come back," Beshear said.

The number of unemployment offices around the state shrank from 51 to 29 in 2017, Beshear said. The system’s $41 million budget in 2010 was cut down to $25 million in 2018. Those offices are using a 20-year-old computer system to process hundreds of thousands of claims.

"I hope that we will never starve these systems again, that we will maintain and improve what we have, and that we realize that everybody needs a little help sometimes, and once in every 100 years, or more frequently, a whole lot of us need help really fast," Beshear said.

Meanwhile, the Team Kentucky Fund has given a total of $350,215 to 421 households since it was launched in March, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said Thursday.

Currently, 398 applications pending approval with documentation.

To donate or apply for vouchers to the Team Kentucky Fund, visit www.capky.org.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A fence will go up around the Kentucky Governor’s Mansion in response to a spring demonstration where armed protesters gathered outside the home and then hanged Gov. Andy Beshear in effigy, the governor’s office said Tuesday.

Security officials requested the fence be built after the late May protest, Beshear spokeswoman Crystal Staley said. Details on when the fence will go up and its cost weren’t immediately available.

The demonstrators crossed barriers to reach the front porch of the mansion, “just a window pane away” from where Beshear and his wife are raising their two children, Staley said. Protesters chanted for the governor to come outside. No one came to the door, as state troopers monitoring the rally got out of their vehicles to observe the group but not intervene, the Courier Journal reported.

RELATED: Man who hanged effigy of Kentucky governor fired from job

The effigy of the Democratic governor later was hanged in a tree on the state Capitol grounds. A video from that day showed that some of the demonstrators were armed.

“At that time, the Kentucky State Police executive security requested a fence be built for the safety of the current and future first families,” Staley said Tuesday in a statement.

The demonstration was billed as a rally in defense of constitutional rights, including the right to bear arms. It turned into a protest against coronavirus restrictions and Beshear’s administration.

Beshear later referred to the protesters as a mob that resorted to “fear and terror.”

“Crossing over barriers, standing on the other side of the glass from where I raise my kids and hanging me in an effigy, that’s an action intended to use fear to get their way,” he said in the days after the protest.

The governor said he would not back down — “not to them and not to anybody else.”

Like other governors, Beshear took steps to loosen virus-related restrictions as the economy reopened. But with coronavirus cases on the rise in Kentucky, Beshear issued a recent order requiring most Kentuckians to wear face coverings in public places.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear reported 413 new COVID-19 cases and five virus-related deaths Thursday, for a total of 20,677 COVID-19 cases and 650 virus-related deaths since the pandemic began.

The report comes on the same day Kentucky's governor spars in court with the state attorney general Daniel Cameron over his executive actions during the pandemic, including his latest order on masks in public and pandemic assistance.

"This is not about the Governor’s policies, it’s about making sure he follows the law," Cameron said. "Judges at every level have found constitutional problems with his orders. Instead of collaborating with our office and the General Assembly to fix these issues, he’s pointing fingers."

Cameron asked for a hearing in Boone County Circuit Court on Thursday, requesting that a judge order Beshear to stop making other "Healthy At Work" executive orders and to nullify prior coronavirus-related orders.

“No rules," Beshear said during his Thursday press conference. "Companies wouldn’t even have to sanitize or use hand sanitizers, no masks, just the wild west. That’s terrifying in the middle of a worldwide health pandemic, and it would mean we would fail, and it means people would die.”

The decision will ultimately be left to the courts as far as how far the governor can go in restricting the behavior of Kentuckians during the pandemic.

“(Coronavirus) is our war, this is our great conflict, and you can’t take all our ammunition and say ‘good luck with the enemy.’ Doesn’t work that way," Beshear said.

The mask mandate is still in effect, Beshear said, through an emergency regulation as well as his executive order last week.

Ky. case numbers

On Thursday, Kentucky reported 507,197 tests administered since the pandemic began in March. Nearly 5,500 people have recovered from the virus.

NKY Health reports that 2,026 people in Boone, Campbell, Kenton and Grant counties have tested positive for coronavirus since March, and 79 people have died of the virus as of Wednesday.

“This sustained increase in cases among people in Northern Kentucky is of great concern,” said Dr. Lynne Saddler, District Director of Health, in a news release Tuesday. “Wearing a face covering whenever you go out in public is a simple act to prevent the spread of COVID-19, save lives, and keep businesses and activities moving forward with reopening. The alternative is that we become like the tragedies that we are seeing in other states.”

Additionally, there have been 18 daycare staff members and 12 children who have tested positive for COVID-19. In 224 of Kentucky's long-term care facilities, 2,180 residents and 1,150 staff have tested positive for the virus, and 411 residents and three staff members have reportedly died of the virus as of Thursday.

Next week, Kroger Health COVID-19 testing will continue at Summit View Academy, 5006 Madison Pike, Independence from July 21, 22 and 23. Click here to schedule an appointment.

Unemployment update

Ernst & Young, a firm contracted by the state late last month to assist the state unemployment office, have resolved 10,635 unemployment assistance claims in just over two weeks. Beshear expects that with Ernst & Young's added 300 employees helping, Kentucky will soon be able to process 4,000 claims per day going forward. He said about 5,000 claims remain from March.

"We had a computer system that is 20 years old, we had a loss of 95 employees two year ago and a loss of lots of regional offices and a budget cut in and then we had the most claims ever filed - by a lot - in a very short period of time. But our job is to fix it," Beshear said.

Beshear said some Kentuckians may expect a call from the state unemployment line about their claim (502) 333-9130. This number is automated and cannot be called back, so Beshear asked people who receive a call from this number to pick up to receive important information.

Second-highest daily case count

Beshear reported 576 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Tuesday, the second-highest daily case count since the pandemic started in March. Tuesday's count breaks the second-highest case count record Kentucky set just four days prior with 426 new cases. The highest daily case count came on May 5, when 625 people tested positive, 390 of whom came out of Green River Correctional Complex.

“These are not just numbers, these are mothers, fathers, grandparents and friends, and there are only a few individuals that COVID-19 has taken from us … I hope the importance of preventing this loss is the most important thing to us," he said.

Beshear said wearing a mask is the best way to make sure that events like fall sports and school reopenings can happen in Kentucky, even as many states are having to "significantly roll back their reopenings" amid higher case numbers.

"I don't want that to be us, and I hope you don't either," Beshear said.

To report non-compliance with coronavirus orders like the latest one on masks in public, you can call 833-KY SAFER (833-597-2337) from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. or file a complaint online here.

Watch a replay of Thursday's briefing in the player below:

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The number of positive coronavirus tests in Kentucky increased again Friday, driving the total number of cases in the state over 30,000, but Gov. Andy Beshear said the percentage of tests coming back positive declined again.

The closely watched “positivity rate” fell for a third straight day to 5.43%, Beshear said in a news release.

“But, we still have too many cases and we need to do everything we can to try to decrease those,” he said.

There’s also been an increase in intensive care unit patients, he said.

There are at least 30,151 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, including 778 new cases reported Friday, Beshear said. The number reported Friday was up from 659 new cases on Thursday. Four new deaths were reported Friday, bringing the total number of Kentuckians who have died from the virus to 735.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness and be fatal.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear reported 700 new COVID-19 cases and seven virus-related deaths for a total of 32,197 total positive cases and 751 virus-related deaths on Tuesday.

“While today we have a higher number than we did at this time last week, we believe there is a general leveling off though today there are more cases than last week," the governor said at his daily press briefing Tuesday.

Kentucky's positivity rate had fallen slightly to 5.18% by Monday, and it rose again to 5.24% on Tuesday, an amount Beshear said is not a significant bump.

Still, he warned that with the rising case numbers last month, state and health officials expect numbers of virus-related deaths to increase within several weeks to a month.

"It's probably going to be a really hard August," Beshear said.

But since the state required Kentuckians to mask up on July 10, case growth has slowed from 52% from July 13-19 to 5% from July 27 - Aug. 2. Beshear said Kentuckians can expect that mask mandate, slated to last 30 days, to be extended.

“Before we can have a full plateau, before we can start seeing case numbers go down, you have to slow the growth that is out there," Beshear said.

In her first appearance during the governor's press conference, Kentucky First Lady Britainy Beshear called on Kentuckians to donate face masks for students, educators and staff returning to school later this month through the launch of the new Coverings for Kids program.

“It’s more important than ever that we are proactive in preparing our schools for a safe return when that day eventually comes,” she said Tuesday.

Starting Aug. 11, people can drop off purchased or handmade masks at district donation centers. For more information on donating face masks, click here.

Free testing in NKY this week

In Northern Kentucky, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Covington's Gravity Diagnostics will offer free, appointment-only drive-thru testing at 25 Atlantic Ave in Erlanger starting Thursday. The site, the former Toyota HQ building off Mineola Pike, will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Additionally, appointment-only drive-up testing will be available through St. E at 7200 Alexandria Pike, Alexandria starting Tuesday, Aug. 11. The free testing site will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Schedule an appointment at those sites online at www.stelizabeth.com/covid-testing.

Kentucky has administered 650,093 COVID-19 tests so far. To find all coronavirus testing locations near you, click here.

More Ky. case numbers

NKY Health reported that 2,878 people in Boone, Campbell, Kenton and Grant counties have tested positive for coronavirus since March, with 833 active virus cases. As of Tuesday, 81 people have died of the virus and 1,964 people have recovered. Gov. Beshear reported that a 50-year-old man in Kenton County died of coronavirus on Tuesday.

In 248 of Kentucky's long-term care facilities, 2,635 residents (444 active cases) and 1,454 staff (213 active cases) have tested positive for the virus; 478 residents and four staff members have reportedly died of the virus as of Tuesday.

In 110 Kentucky childcare centers, 84 staff and 75 children have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday.

Restaurants reduce capacity, travel advisory updated

To prevent statewide shutdowns and case surges seen in other states, Beshear ordered restaurants to reduce indoor dining capacity to 25% and maximize outdoor seating when possible. On Tuesday, Beshear said he would look into a possibly capacity increases when Kentucky's positivity rate dips back under 5%.

The governor announced a travel advisory earlier this month, asking Kentuckians to avoid traveling to states with high COVID-19 positivity rates, and if they do travel to hard-hit areas to quarantine for two weeks.

On Monday, the list of states on the travel advisory included Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Nevada and South Carolina. Ahead of events in Louisville, including the 51st Street Rod Nationals this weekend, Beshear encouraged people attending from out-of-state to be responsible and get tested.

Beshear also recently enacted a 10-person limit on social gatherings, a delay of school start dates to the third week of August and a two-week shutdown for all bars.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:

School districts across the state of Kentucky scuttled their back-to-school plans on Aug. 10, when Gov. Andy Beshear announced his official recommendation that the state’s public school students learn from home until at least Sept. 28.

With less than a week left until the academic year begins in Boone County, parents still aren’t sure what lies ahead or what they should be doing to get ready.

“We don’t really know what’s going on,” said Chelsea Fisch, whose three sons attend three different Boone County schools.

RELATED: Here's what back-to-school will look like in Boone County's public schools

Her high-schooler will start classes on Aug. 25. Which classes? Good question — he hasn’t received his schedule.

“I’ll probably be scrambling this weekend,” Fisch admitted.

Another Boone County mother, Heather Eggleston, said her fifth-grader still doesn’t know who his teacher will be when he logs on to his first day of online classes.

And others across the district have been struggling to prepare for virtual learning, ensure their children have internet access and report problems with students’ school-issued smart devices.

“This is not the way we like to operate,” assistant superintendent James Detwiler said Wednesday. “Obviously, we know that this is a hardship on the families.”

Until Beshear’s announcement, the district had planned on a blended learning model: Students in classrooms for one half of the week and learning online for the other. Detwiler said Boone County schools are doing their best to pivot and be responsive to families’ needs.

If a family doesn’t have access to Wi-Fi, “we will set them up in some way, and we have agencies that work with us to make sure students have what they need,” Detwiler said.

He added that high schoolers should expect to receive an email or phone call containing their schedule on Thursday or Friday. Elementary and middle schoolers, who have the same teacher all day, will know who it is by Friday.

Families in need of help with their child’s computer, Wi-Fi or school meals should call their child’s school directly, Detwiler said.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — After long-term care residents and healthcare workers, Kentucky plans to give COVID-19 vaccines to people age 70 and older, first responders and K-12 school personnel possibly starting in early February.

Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said Monday that it is crucial to begin vaccinating people age 70 or older, who are most at-risk of complications due to COVID-19 and make up 75% of all COVID-19 deaths in Kentucky.

“This is clearly the population at greatest risk for serious medical needs, requiring hospitalization and intensive care unit care, and also the population at greatest risk for death,” Stack said.

Phase 1b also includes police officers and firefighters, and most emergency medical responders are already vaccinated in the first phase.

K-12 school personnel includes educators, bus drivers, custodians, housekeeping and other workers who might come in direct contact with students or school buildings. Off-site or administration personnel will have to wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Stack said.

Gov. Andy Beshear said that "Phase 1a" (healthcare workers, long-term care residents and staff) will end and "Phase 1b" (people over 70, first responders, K-12 personnel) could begin around Feb. 1. Both Beshear and Stack asked Kentuckians for patience as health officials work to distribute the vaccine.

Kentucky expects to receive roughly 202,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines by the end of December. More than 26,300 doses have already been administered in hospitals and long-term care centers, and 40 additional facilities will receive some amount of vaccines by the end of this week, Beshear said.

For questions on COVID-19 vaccines and their distribution, call Kentucky's 24-hour hotline at (800) 722-5725 or visit Kentucky's vaccine webpage.

COVID-19 case numbers decreasing

At his briefing Monday, Gov. Beshear announced that numbers of new COVID-19 cases appear to be falling.

“We have certainly stopped the exponential growth, this third wave, and I believe that we've not only plateaued it, but we’re starting to see cases decrease,” Beshear said.

Beshear reported 1,455 new cases and eight coronavirus-related deaths on Monday. Since March, 258,517 COVID-19 cases and 2,563 virus-related deaths have been reported in Kentucky. Holiday lab closures and an AT&T outage caused by an RV bombing in Nashville may have affected case reporting, as those labs enter new cases using the internet, Beshear said.

Beshear added that reported deaths may remain high as they lag weeks behind last fall's exponential case growth. He also recognized the "sacrifices" Kentucky businesses made to slow the spread of COVID-19 cases.

“Those sacrifices were not in vain, as the rest of the country sees continuing increases in cases, as the rest of the country sees runs out of ICU beds and hospital beds," the governor said. "At this moment, we’ve stopped that from happening in Kentucky, but we can let this success go. We’ve gotta keep it up -- otherwise we can be back very quickly to a more dangerous place."

Hospitalizations remained high Monday, with 1,552 Kentuckians currently hospitalized for COVID-19, 411 people in intensive care units and 217 on ventilators.

Kentucky's COVID-19 test positivity rate has fallen to 7.97% on Monday. The state's fatality rate, the proportion of people who die out of people who test positive for the virus, hovers at 0.97%.

Using the state's contact tracing database, NKY Health reports 2,407 active coronavirus cases in Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties, and 19,579 people have recovered from the virus as of Monday. Since the pandemic began, 164 Northern Kentuckians have died from the virus.

Where to get tested for free in NKY

St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Covington's Gravity Diagnostics offer free, appointment-only drive-thru testing at 25 Atlantic Ave in Erlanger, the former Toyota HQ building off Mineola Pike.

The site is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. You will be able to collect your own sample without leaving your vehicle and receive results within three to five days.

Additionally, appointment-only drive-up testing is available through St. E at 7200 Alexandria Pike, Alexandria. The free testing site is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Schedule an appointment at those sites online at www.stelizabeth.com/covid-testing. To find all coronavirus testing locations near you, click here.

Watch a replay of Monday's briefing in the player below:

FRANKFORT, Ky. — At his final COVID-19 briefing of 2020, Gov. Andy Beshear again asked Kentuckians to keep their New Year's celebrations small, especially as the state is seeing the number of new coronavirus cases decreasing.

“2021 is the year we’re going to beat COVID-19, but to do that, I need everybody -- everybody -- to keep their New Year’s Eve gathering small,” he said Tuesday.

Beshear announced that he has renewed Kentucky’s mask mandate for another 30 days effective Jan. 2, and he also extended Kentucky’s eviction moratorium through Jan. 31.

"I need people to try, for them to do their duty. I need business owners to enforce this (mask mandate). Restaurants and bars, part of being able to operate in a pandemic that spreads when people take their masks off. Is to make people wear them every moment they're not eating or drinking," Beshear said.

A third order allowing pharmacists to dispense emergency refills of up to a 30-day supply of non-scheduled medications was also extended.

The governor reported 2,990 new cases, down from last week, and 31 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, including an 88-year-old woman from Boone County. Beshear said the higher number of deaths lag behind the case numbers from exponential case growth seen in late fall.

Since March, 261,492 COVID-19 cases and 2,594 virus-related deaths have been reported in Kentucky.

Hospitalizations increased Tuesday, with 1,635 Kentuckians currently hospitalized for COVID-19, 380 people in intensive care units and 211 on ventilators.

Kentucky's COVID-19 test positivity rate rose slightly to 8.41% on Tuesday. The state's fatality rate, the proportion of people who die out of people who test positive for the virus, hovers at 0.99%.

Using the state's contact tracing database, NKY Health reports 2,317 active coronavirus cases in Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties, and 19,915 people have recovered from the virus as of Tuesday. Since the pandemic began, 165 Northern Kentuckians have died from the virus.

Federal relief coming to KY

The latest federal COVID-19 relief bill includes $600 payments to individuals, equating to roughly $2.2 billion for Kentuckians. If Congress's latest effort to secure $2,000 payments for individuals is approved, Beshear said that could send about $5 billion more to Kentucky residents.

Beshear said nearly $297 million is expected for eviction relief and utility relief. Eligible unemployed Kentuckians can expect an additional $300 per week assistance for 11 weeks, about $489 million total.

The relief bill also includes education, transportation, and family and senior program funding. There is no timeline yet for distributing payments to individuals or the state receiving these funds.

"We hope while there will be a lot of use this year, that we'll see significant dollars to remediation," Beshear said. "Catching kids up that have fallen behind during the pandemic."

Who gets the COVID-19 vaccine next?

After long-term care residents and healthcare workers, Kentucky plans to give COVID-19 vaccines to people age 70 and older, first responders and K-12 school personnel possibly starting in early February.

"Phase 1a" (healthcare workers, long-term care residents and staff) will end and "Phase 1b" (people over 70, first responders, K-12 personnel) could begin around Feb. 1, Beshear said.

Phase 1b also includes police officers and firefighters, while most emergency medical responders will already be vaccinated in the first phase. K-12 school personnel includes those who come in contact with students or school buildings. Off-site or administration personnel will have to wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Kentucky expects to receive roughly 202,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines by the end of December, with just under 54,000 expected to arrive the first week of January. Nearly 29,000 doses have already been administered in hospitals and long-term care centers, and 40 more facilities will receive some amount of vaccines by the end of this week.

For questions on COVID-19 vaccines and their distribution, call Kentucky's 24-hour hotline at (800) 722-5725 or visit Kentucky's vaccine webpage.

Where to get tested for free in NKY

St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Covington's Gravity Diagnostics offer free, appointment-only drive-thru testing at 25 Atlantic Ave in Erlanger, the former Toyota HQ building off Mineola Pike.

The site is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. You will be able to collect your own sample without leaving your vehicle and receive results within three to five days.

Additionally, appointment-only drive-up testing is available through St. E at 7200 Alexandria Pike, Alexandria. The free testing site is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Schedule an appointment at those sites online at www.stelizabeth.com/covid-testing. To find all coronavirus testing locations near you, click here.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Officials in Kentucky announced that efforts to identify positive COVID-19 cases and contacts may have prevented the virus from spreading to roughly 54,000 Kentuckians.

Mark Carter, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services advisor who has spearheaded Kentucky's contact tracing efforts, estimates that quarantining and contact tracing have prevented more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 400 deaths.

Contact tracing, which identifies people who may have been in contact with a person infected with COVID-19, began in Kentucky last May.

Through Kentucky's process, about 167,000 people who tested COVID-positive successfully isolated, and nearly one-third of those people were contacted within 24 hours of a positive test result. About 57% of all Kentuckians who were potentially exposed successfully quarantined, Carter said.

Due to data limitations, Carter said Tuesday's figures are a conservative estimate. Carter explained that the reasons behind those limitations include decentralized public health systems, delayed adoption of contact tracing by local health departments, lack of surge support, underreported cases and contacts as well as politicization of contact tracing.

Carter said the state has added about 1,200 contact tracing staff over the last seven months, with 60 local health departments using the state's contact tracing system. With a $78 million budget from federal funds, these efforts have spent $47.7 million so far.

Virus positivity rate rising in Kentucky

Gov. Andy Beshear reported 1,781 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest Tuesday number in several weeks, as well as 23 virus-related deaths statewide. Tuesday's report included a 95-year-old woman from Kenton County.

Kentucky's COVID-19 positivity rate rose again to 11.36% Tuesday, up from 8.41% last week. Beshear attributed the "concerning" jump in virus positivity to more asymptomatic cases and cases spreading at Christmas gatherings, though it is still too early to tell if New Year's gatherings will have a similar effect.

Despite the surging positivity rate, the governor said Kentucky's K-12 schools should still be able to resume in-person classes on Monday, as long as they follow the executive order on capacity and accommodations for at-risk staff.

Since March, 280,836 COVID-19 cases and 2,772 virus-related deaths have been reported in Kentucky.

Hospitalizations increased Tuesday, with 1,760 Kentuckians currently hospitalized for COVID-19, 430 people in intensive care units and 215 on ventilators. The state's coronavirus fatality rate, the proportion of people who die out of people who test positive for the virus, sits at 0.98%.

Using the state's contact tracing database, NKY Health reports 2,788 active coronavirus cases in Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties, and 21,506 people have recovered from the virus as of Tuesday. Since the pandemic began, 167 Northern Kentuckians have died from the virus.

Who's next in line for vaccines?

Kentucky expects to work through the end of January to finish vaccinating long-term care residents and staff as well as frontline health care workers in "Phase 1a." People age 70 and older, first responders and K-12 school personnel will be vaccinated next in "Phase 1b," and that could start by February.

The state announced the remaining vaccine phases Monday: Phase 1c includes anyone age 60 and older, anyone 16 and older with a high-risk medical condition, and all essential workers; Phase 2 includes anyone over age 40; Phase 3 includes anyone older than 16; Phase 4 includes children under 16, provided that the FDA approves a vaccine for children.

"I want to get this vaccine to all of you who want it as quickly as we can. I wish I could tell you it’s going to be tomorrow, but we’re going to make it happen," Beshear said Tuesday.

Kentucky was allocated about 202,000 COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna in December, with another 101,000 doses expected to arrive in the first two weeks of January.

As of Tuesday, Kentucky has administered about 66,500 first vaccine doses. To be fully vaccinated, patients must receive an initial dose followed by a booster dose weeks later.

Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said sites will be asked to administer 90% of all vaccines received within seven days of arrival, and to vaccinate "more than half of every interested Kentuckian" by June. To do this, Kentucky will allow vaccination sites to give shots to patients in lower tiers if those sites have no upper-tier vaccinations scheduled.

Health officials are still working on vaccination site plans, locations and an appointment scheduling system, Stack said.

Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below:

WASHINGTON —

Several prominent Cincinnati area lawmakers have condemned protesters who stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday afternoon.

Here is was several local lawmakers are saying.

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, R

This is an embarrassment to our country. This must stop immediately. The President should call for the demonstrators to leave our Capitol Building. The final step in the constitutional process of electing our president has been disrupted. The stopping of the count of the Electoral College votes has occurred because the security of the U.S. Capitol has been breached by a violent mob. As a nation of laws, this is simply not acceptable. Lawlessness is not acceptable. This is an affront to our Constitution and everything we hold dear. Those who breached the Capitol breached the Constitution. Peaceful demonstrations outside the Capitol are an exercise of the demonstrators’ First Amendment rights. Stopping the constitutional process by which we elect the president is not.

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The situation at the U.S. Capitol is an embarrassment to our country. This must stop immediately. The President should call for the demonstrators to leave our Capitol Building. The final step in the constitutional process of electing our president has been disrupted.

— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) January 6, 2021

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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, D

Today is a tough day for our country. Domestic terrorists have stormed and infiltrated our U.S. Capitol building, a building that stands for American Democracy. Yes, I called them domestic terrorists. When you try to use force and intimidation to get what you want -- to overthrow an election, to stop the business of Congress -- yes, you are acting as a domestic terrorist.

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Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, R

It’s both saddening and sickening to watch a mob devolve into thinking their rules would ever replace the rule of law. I unequivocally condemn the violence at the U.S. Capitol that we are now witnessing. Passion, patriotism and love for our nation should always and only be expressed in constructive ways that seek to honor the ideals on which our nation was founded. Any means of violence runs counter to who we are and is never acceptable.

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It’s both saddening and sickening to watch a mob devolve into thinking their rules would ever replace the rule of law. I unequivocally condemn the violence at the U.S. Capitol that we are now witnessing.

— Governor Eric Holcomb (@GovHolcomb) January 6, 2021

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Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R, Ohio's 2nd District

This violence must stop. The criminals who have broken into the U.S. Capitol, injured law enforcement, and disrupted the constitutional process are not patriots. No matter what flag one is carrying, people violating the law need to be held accountable.

I condemn these actions and stand behind Capitol Police and our law enforcement in restoring order. Again, the violence must stop.

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This violence must stop. The criminals who have broken into the U.S. Capitol, injured law enforcement, and disrupted the constitutional process are not patriots. No matter what flag one is carrying, people violating the law need to be held accountable. 1/2

— Rep. Brad Wenstrup (@RepBradWenstrup) January 6, 2021

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Sen. Rob Portman, R, Ohio

The right to protest peacefully is protected under the Constitution but the actions by violent mobs against our law enforcement and property at the US Capitol building today are not. (President Donald Trump) should condemn this unacceptable vandalism and violence.

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The right to protest peacefully is protected under the Constitution but the actions by violent mobs against our law enforcement and property at the @USCapitol building today are not. @realdonaldtrump should condemn this unacceptable vandalism and violence.

— Rob Portman (@senrobportman) January 6, 2021

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Sen. Sherrod Brown, D, Ohio

My staff and I are safe. The violence at the Capitol needs to end now.

The lives of countless workers – journalists, staff, and Capitol Police are being put at risk by this attack on our democracy.

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My staff and I are safe.

The violence at the Capitol needs to end now.

The lives of countless workers – journalists, staff, and Capitol Police are being put at risk by this attack on our democracy.

— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) January 6, 2021

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Sen. Rand Paul, R, Kentucky

Violence and mob rule is wrong and un-American, and it will not bring about election reform.

Today’s mayhem sets back any intelligent debate for a generation. Just stop it.

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Violence and mob rule is wrong and un-American, and it will not bring about election reform.

Today’s mayhem sets back any intelligent debate for a generation. Just stop it.

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 6, 2021

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Rep. Steve Chabot, R, Ohio's 1st District

What is occurring right now at the Capitol is completely unacceptable. In America, we have the right to peacefully assemble and protest.

But, we do not, under any circumstances, have the right to violently storm government buildings and threaten the safety of our police officers and our fellow citizens.

The disturbing violence being reported must stop immediately, and anyone participating in such violent acts must be held accountable.

Respecting those with whom we disagree is not a matter of politics; it’s a fundamental principle upon which this nation was founded.

And it is critical that we, as a nation, find a way to put our differences aside, and focus on those basic beliefs that unite us as Americans.

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What is occurring right now at the Capitol is completely unacceptable. In America, we have the right to peacefully assemble and protest.

— Rep. Steve Chabot (@RepSteveChabot) January 6, 2021

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Rep. Warren Davidson, R, Ohio's 8th District

I want to thank the Capitol Police for its dedicated service and for keeping everyone--from members to staff--safe. I have every confidence that they will be able to handle this situation.

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I want to thank the Capitol Police for its dedicated service and for keeping everyone--from members to staff--safe. I have every confidence that they will be able to handle this situation.

— Warren Davidson (@WarrenDavidson) January 6, 2021

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Rep. Steve Stevers, R, Ohio's 15th District

Protestors have a right to be heard – a right that I’ve fought overseas for - but there is a difference between protesting and rioting. Destruction and lawlessness are not acceptable.

Many of those protesting today are carrying flags in support of the Thin Blue Line and law enforcement - I’m calling on everyone at the Capitol to obey the law and follow all instructions given by Capitol police and other law enforcement.

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Many of those protesting today are carrying flags in support of the Thin Blue Line and law enforcement - I’m calling on everyone at the Capitol to obey the law and follow all instructions given by Capitol police and other law enforcement.

— Steve Stivers (@RepSteveStivers) January 6, 2021

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Rep. Thomas Massie, R, Kentucky's 4th District

I’m safe.

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Jane Timken, Ohio GOP Chairwoman

As Americans we have the constitutional right to redress our grievances but not with violence. What’s happening in the Capitol is wrong and not the way forward.

Pray for law enforcement protecting the US Capitol.

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As Americans we have the constitutional right to redress our grievances but not with violence. What’s happening in the Capitol is wrong and not the way forward.

— Jane Murphy Timken (@JaneyMurph) January 6, 2021

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Dave Yost, R, Ohio Attorney General

I condemn the storming of the Capitol. This is not protest, but lawlessness.

My prayers are with the law enforcement officers trying to restore order.

The color of your skin or the slogan upon your banner do not change what is acceptable and what is not.

Let all of us in Ohio remain peaceful. Do not let a sense of injustice produce more injustice.

The rule of law means the same rules for everybody. Those of us who called for prosecution of the people who stormed the federal courthouse in Portland must apply the same demand to those who stormed the Capitol today