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Gov. Beshear: Delay in processing jobless claims due to former administration 'starving' the system

Posted at 3:48 PM, Jul 09, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-09 15:48:36-04

(LEX 18) — Gov. Andy Beshear cites a delay in processing unemployment claims as "the perfect storm of what happens when you starve a system."

In an interview with LEX 18's Nancy Cox, Beshear cites former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin getting rid of unemployment offices while he was governor.

"When you starve a system when things are good, you don't have the people in place when things are bad," Gov. Beshear said. "A safety net is something that has to be invested in."

Gov. Beshear referred to the rise in coronavirus cases as a "slow uptick."

"We are seeing hospitals [in other states] overrun, ICUs being full. Now we don't have that in Kentucky yet, but I am not going to let what's happening in other states happen here. I'm not going to let us get to that point," he said.

Gov. Beshear reported 402 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, which is the second-highest daily increases since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Back in May, there was an increase of 625 cases.

For additional information, including up-to-date lists of positive cases and deaths, as well as breakdowns of coronavirus infections by county, race and ethnicity, click here.