FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 29, 2020) – On Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear urged Kentuckians to ring in the new year safely and announced two new vaccine allocations, totaling 53,700 doses, for Kentucky the week of Jan. 4: 27,300 doses from Pfizer and 26,400 doses from Moderna.

“I ask every single Kentuckian to keep any New Year’s celebration small, preferably your own household or one more,” said Gov. Beshear. “Remember, going to a big party, hosting a big party or going to any gathering where you’re going to take your masks off will spread this virus at a time where Kentucky is doing better than most, but the virus is rampaging through the United States and we’re seeing record deaths just about everywhere.”

The Governor also said today Walgreens reported 1,009 additional vaccinations administered to long-term care residents and staff; CVS reported 501.

For more information about vaccine distribution Phase 1a and 1b, click here. To see the state’s full vaccine dashboard, click here.

Case Information
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 29, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

New cases today: 2,990
New deaths today: 31
Positivity rate: 8.41%
Total deaths: 2,594
Currently hospitalized: 1,635
Currently in ICU: 380
Currently on ventilator: 211

Top counties with the most positive cases today are: Jefferson, Warren and Kenton. Each of these counties reported 100 or more new cases; Jefferson County alone reported 414.

Those reported lost to the virus today include an 88-year-old woman from Boone County; an 86-year-old man from Clinton County; a 73-year-old man from Daviess County; a 52-year-old man from Floyd County; an 87-year-old man from Graves County; a 78-year-old woman from Hopkins County; three women, ages 33, 91 and 93, and an 85-year-old man from Jefferson County; a 97-year-old man from Jessamine County; a 75-year-old woman from Knott County; a 93-year-old man from Larue County; a 95-year-old man from Laurel County; a 77-year-old man from Marshall County; a 76-year-old man from McCracken County; a 77-year-old man from Ohio County; a 76-year-old woman from Owen County; two women, ages 80 and 101, from Perry County; two women, ages 79 and 83, and a 78-year-old man from Pulaski County; two women, ages 58 and 86, and a 61-year-old man from Taylor County; a 50-year-old woman and two men, ages 75 and 82, from Wayne County; a 68-year-old man from Webster County; and a 74-year-old man from Wolfe County.

Federal Relief Funding Update
Today, Gov. Beshear announced the new federal COVID-19 relief bill includes more than $5 billion for Kentucky, including funds for direct payments, unemployment insurance, rental assistance, vaccine distribution and more. The Governor emphasized that these figures are preliminary estimates, but are subject to change.

Assistance to Individuals

• Direct Payments to Households – $2,265,302,000
• Unemployment Insurance, $300/week for 11 weeks – $489,614,031
• Rental/Utility/Energy Assistance – $297,396,819

Education

• Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund – $928,275,000
• Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund – $261,015,000
• Governor's Education Emergency Relief Fund-2/3rds for private schools – $60,305,000

Families and Seniors

• Child Care Development Block Grant – $192,822,381
• Promoting Safe & Stable Families – $1,004,000
• Meals for Seniors – 2,259,000
• Chafee Foster Care Program – $5,879,000
• Chafee Education & Training Vouchers-Foster Youth – $899,000
• Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant – $19,221,000
• Mental Health Block Grant – $21,560,000

Fighting the Virus

• Testing, Tracing and Mitigation – $289,654,359
• Vaccine Distribution – $56,965,810

Transportation

• Federal Highways-Surface Transportation Block Grant – $164,914,864
• FAA-Airport Improvement Program – $28,249,556

Eviction Prevention Update
Gov. Beshear reminded Kentuckians that the CDC has extended its moratorium on evictions through Jan. 31, 2021. The Governor renewed a previous executive order mandating that the CDC moratorium apply in Kentucky. The CDC order and the tenant declaration required by the CDC order and by the Governor’s order are available online.

Face Coverings Mandate Extended
Today, the Governor renewed the state’s face coverings mandate for an additional 30 days; the current executive order is set to expire at 4:59 p.m. on Jan. 2 and the new order will be effective on Jan. 2 at 5 p.m.

Pharmacy Refills Update
Today, Gov. Beshear signed Executive Order 2020-1057 that extends previous orders allowing pharmacists to dispense 30-day refills. The current executive order is set to expire at the end of Jan. 3; the new order will be effective for 30 days beginning Jan. 4.

DDS Glass Doors Completes Todd County Expansion
The Governor announced today that freezer and cooler door manufacturer DDS Glass Doors LLC is relocating to a larger facility in Elkton, a $1.6 million expansion expected to create 50 full-time, Kentucky-resident jobs in the years ahead. To learn more, see the full release.

More Information
To view the full daily report, incidence rate map, testing locations, long-term care and other congregate facilities update, school reports and guidance, red zone counties, red zone recommendations, the White House Coronavirus Task Force reports for Kentucky and other key guidance visit, kycovid19.ky.gov.

See all of the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s winter holiday guidance here: English full guidance, one-pager and single slide and Spanish full guidance, one-pager and single slide.

Kentuckians can also listen to recorded PSAs about the holiday guidance (created in partnership with RadioLex) here: Bosnian, Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Persian and Spanish.