Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear announced Saturday that he's calling the Republican-led legislature into a special session to shape pandemic policies as Kentucky struggles with a record surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

The return of lawmakers to the state Capitol, starting Tuesday, will mark a dramatic power shift in coronavirus-related policymaking following a recent court ruling.

Key GOP lawmakers have signaled their preference for policies favoring local decision-making over statewide mandates in response to the virus escalation fueled by the fast-spreading delta variant.

Beshear wielded sole authority to call lawmakers into a special session and to set the agenda. But GOP supermajorities in both chambers will decide what measures ultimately pass.

Various emergency measures issued by Beshear are set to expire as a result of the landmark court decision. Lawmakers will decide whether to extend, alter or discontinue each emergency order, and they are expected to put their own stamp on the state's response to COVID-19.

Throughout the pandemic, Republican lawmakers watched from the sidelines as Beshear waged an aggressive response that included statewide mask mandates and strict limits on gatherings. Republicans criticized the governor for what they viewed as overly broad and stringent restrictions on Kentuckians. The governor lifted most of his virus-related restrictions in June.

The state Supreme Court recently shifted those virus-related decisions to the legislature. The court cleared the way for new laws to limit the governor’s emergency powers, which he used to impose virus restrictions. The justices said a lower court wrongly blocked the GOP-backed measures.

Since the ruling, Beshear has been negotiating with lawmakers in anticipation of calling them into special session.

Gov. Andy Beshear wants to do his part to incentivize those who work for him to get their COVID-19 shots, an effort geared at encouraging other state offices and employers to do the same across Kentucky.

The governor announced Thursday, during his latest COVID-19 briefing, that he will give all executive branch employees an extra vacation day for getting vaccinated.

Beshear said the incentive comes after the state first allowed workers time during their shifts to go get vaccinated when the shots began rolling out in January. The state also gave workers time off for recuperation.

Now, the governor said he wants to reward those in his office for getting their shots. He said the one extra vacation day applies to all active, permanent, full-time and part-time executive branch employees upon submission of vaccination proof.

Beshear said the incentive also applies to all those already vaccinated.

"This is an incentive so that you can spend more time with your family doing what you want to do for doing the right thing," Beshear said.

The governor said he's also encouraging other constitutional offices that would like to participate. He said those offices can contact the personnel cabinet to submit a request.

Beshear's action comes as he tries to do his part to show that the state is fighting against the latest COVID-19 surge. In July, he re-introduced a mask mandate for all state employees and for all visitors to state buildings.

"We’re here to say we need you, and we need you to be healthy. We’ve lost far too many people in this fight and I don’t want to lose anymore people at all. Much less those that work for the commonwealth of Kentucky," Beshear said.

It is edge-of-seat time once again for local leaders who have been pushing for a new Brent Spence Bridge across the Ohio River.

They are looking hopefully to the bipartisan infrastructure bill that is before Congress.

Whether it's wishful thinking, spot-on analysis or guesswork, Kentucky's governor suggested Monday that tolls may not be a make-or-break issue after all.

Andy Beshear said he is "waiting with bated breath" to see if President Joe Biden's administration will include the Brent Spence in the bipartisan bill. We've heard for decades how funding a new major artery requires a local match, defined by those who would make it as tolls.

"And right now I'm not sure that there's community support for that," Beshear told reporters.

But at NKU Monday where he delivered grants for various projects, some involving transportation, the governor pinned hopes on large federal project thinking.

"I don't think where we are on tolls has anything to do with whether or not they're going to invest," Beshear said.

Like vehicles on the 58-year-old covered span, optimism is inching forward once again. But the community has been down this well-traveled road many times.

"Transportation in this community is awful," Northern Kentucky Chamber President Brent Cooper said.

He said the current situation is taking — as he put it — a brutal toll on commuters and commerce.

"We have employers who have lost employees because of the Brent Spence Bridge, who are unable to get new employees because of the Brent Spence Bridge. The Chambers of Commerce on both sides of the river are hearing this every day. So, something has to get done," Cooper said.

When this year ends, the Brent Spence will have either been closed or limited to two lanes for over 13 months.

Intrigued by the governor's remarks, he's nevertheless from Missouri about it.

"We would love it if tolls weren't necessary, believe me. But we don't know how that's possible at this point," Cooper said.

Neither does the senate minority leader.

In Louisville Monday, Mitch McConnell bluntly told media: "The biggest part of the problem has been in Frankfort, not in Washington."

McConnell is a key part of what happens to the bipartisan infrastructure bill Congress is considering. As he spoke, Monday's traffic was its typical congested mess.

It exacts such a toll on daily patience, even a question about tolls seems exasperating at times.

"I don't know," McConnell answered. "I don't know for sure. But I do know that's the way it was done here. That's the way it's going to be done down near Henderson. But huge challenge in Northern Kentucky and I understand why. They got a lot of commuters."

It took two hours for Reds fans to get from Florence to the ballpark the other day.

Business leaders lament the domino effect of Brent Spence Bridge congestion on other major roadways.

"Something has to get done," Cooper said. "We're tired of saying it. We're begging people to come to the table. Yes, tolling is a challenge. But what's happening now is much, much worse."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Ohio Sen. Rob Portman said: "While we are in early stages of drafting legislation, a path forward for the Brent Spence Bridge is, and always has been, a priority for the Senator. While this framework includes unprecedented levels of funding for major projects like the BSB, the state and local officials involved in this project still need to address their part of this process in order to move forward."

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday declared his state’s deadly fight against COVID-19 a “success story” as he ended most pandemic restrictions, and said his state lessened the crisis because Kentuckians ultimately put science ahead of politics.

The Democratic governor, who confronted protests, lawsuits and impeachment petitions over his virus-related executive actions, expressed frustration that mask mandates meant to slow the virus’ spread became a “question of liberty.”

Bringing the coronavirus under control required collective efforts of Democrats and Republicans, offering a lesson to move beyond the partisan strife that “can just be toxic,” Beshear said in an interview with The Associated Press, the first sitdown interview he’s given in person in more than a year.

Shortly before announcing he was lifting capacity restrictions for restaurants, bars and other public venues, Beshear said the pandemic was “a test of our humanity” and posed “the single deadliest threat” of his lifetime. Kentucky’s virus-related death toll has surpassed 7,000.

“When you look at our response, I think you see a success story and that’s obviously comparative and based on what could have happened,” the governor said.

Kentucky “beat back” three surges of infection without having its hospitals overrun with virus patients, Beshear said. The rollout of vaccinations was “pretty successful,” with more than 2.1 million Kentuckians having received at least one dose of vaccine, he said.

“We know that our actions saved thousands, likely tens of thousands of lives,” he said later at his last media briefing focused on the “crisis phase of COVID in the commonwealth.”

Republicans got in more digs at the governor as he was removing most remaining restrictions.

State Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said Beshear had governed by “executive fiat” throughout the pandemic, and that Kentucky’s reopening lagged behind many other states. Quarles is a potential challenger to Beshear in 2023, when the governor has said he will seek a second term.

Beshear already has pivoted to focusing on job creation as the economy rebounds, but his handling of the pandemic will define his term, said Scott Jennings, a Kentuckian and former adviser to President George W. Bush. Republican lawmakers who control the state legislature accused the governor of cutting them out of pandemic decisions. Jennings said that the “insular nature of his leadership led to some terribly arbitrary choices on school and business closures.”

The governor said he often had to choose between options that were “tough and tougher” in combating the virus’ spread, but added that he was consistent in “always siding with the science and in a way that protected the most Kentuckians as possible.”

During the interview, the first-term governor spoke in personal terms about the difficulties of leading the state through the public health crisis and the heartache and losses it caused.

“I’m the guy that has to try to lay my head down every night and sleep knowing that Kentuckians that we’ve lost, the grief that’s out there, the fact that so many couldn’t say goodbye and be at that bedside,” he said. “That we had thousands of Kentuckians die alone or with a nurse holding their hands. And so that perspective, each and every day, I never looked at any of this in any of the red or the blue discussion, and the rest of the country shouldn’t either.”

At his briefing, Beshear turned emotional in announcing the nine latest virus-related deaths. He read the age, gender and home county of each person, as he did throughout the pandemic.

Beshear has faced steady criticism and occasional protests over his actions. Armed protesters gathered near the governor’s home last year and then hanged Beshear in effigy in a tree near the state Capitol. The event was billed as a rally in defense of constitutional rights, including the right to bear arms, but turned into a protest against the governor’s virus restrictions.

Before he took action to largely lift the state’s mask mandate Friday, Beshear vented his frustration with the divisions over donning a facial covering.

“Masks have been used to reduce infection in health care settings for decades,” he said. “Yet somehow it became a question of liberty.”

He lifted the statewide mask mandate with a few exceptions, keeping the measure for such “high-risk settings” as public transit, health care settings and long-term care facilities.

Beshear became a fixture on statewide TV for more than a year, with press conferences where he announced the daily toll the pandemic had taken on Kentuckians. The governor said Friday that his decisions were guided by science, even when it incurred a backlash.

“To me, this wasn’t a red or a blue issue, it was a life-and-death issue,” he said. “And I think every day through more than 250 press conferences, over, what, about 470 days from our first one to today, it was about the information, it was about the science and it was about our families.”

Kentucky is following the lead of several other states with plans to lift the mask-wearing protocols June 11.

The governor made the announcement Friday and called it a shot of hope for residents of the state. It was welcomed news for residents and businesses that have been under unbelievable restrictions for 14 months.

“You have to let people make their own decisions,” Northern Kentucky resident Jack Simkonis said.

Some businesses will let their own policies stand and individuals will let their conscience be their guide.

Although the mask protocols will be lifted in June, many venues will be allowed to increase their capacity to 75% shortly before Memorial Day.

“If you feel like you need to wear a mask, wear a mask. I think we’re at a good place and I think the numbers show that,” Northern Kentucky resident Bill Kornblum said.

Editor’s note: With our coronavirus coverage, our goal is not to alarm you but to equip you with the information you need. We will try to keep things in context and focus on helping you make decisions. See a list of resources and frequently asked questions here.

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- At his daily virus briefing Friday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced six more virus-related deaths across the commonwealth.

On Friday, the governor announced 831 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 statewide, 90 more cases than Thursday.

That means there have been 17 new virus-related deaths since March 31, including a woman in her 80s from Kenton County and a man in his 70s from Grant County.

Beshear announced Thursday that all K-12 schools will remain closed until at least May 1, with instruction continuing online.

On Friday, the Northern Kentucky Health Department reported there have been 105 confirmed virus cases in four counties; 52 are in Kenton County, 25 are in Boone County, 24 are in Campbell County and four are in Grant County. NKY Health reports there have been five virus-related deaths in the region so far.

WCPO will update this story.