FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — During a press conference, Gov. Andy Beshear states that as of Monday, the Commonwealth now has the capability to test for the novel coronavirus.
Before this week, the only place to rapidly test for the virus was the CDC at Atlanta Georgia. Researchers can now test in the state laboratory in Frankfort.
There are no confirmed positive tests for COVID-19 in the Bluegrass. The state has tested seven people. Four of those have been negative and three are pending. Those tests, said the governor, were issued out of an abundance of caution and that none of those patients had any obvious signs that they had been exposed to the virus.
"Every day we don't have a case (of coronavirus) in the state is another day we have to prepare," said Gov. Beshear.
The Department of Public Health is monitoring at least 121 people who might have been exposed to COVID-19.
The governor encouraged good hygiene for prevention of all contagious illnesses, including the flu of which there have been 66 deaths in the state this season.
