FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — UPDATE: Governor Andy Beshear and his family have tested negative for COVID-19 for the second time this week after a potential exposure.
"We will continue our quarantine until cleared by the Department for Public Health," Governor Beshear tweeted.
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Gov. Andy Beshear and his family are in quarantine after a potential exposure to COVID-19.
In a video statement, he said, "the Beshear family has been committed since the start of COVID-19 to setting an example of doing all those things we're asking Kentuckians to do."
One of those things is "answering the call" from contact tracers.
He said a contact tracer called him Saturday and said a member of his security detail who drove the family late Saturday afternoon got a positive test back late Saturday night.
Therefore, he said he and his family will be quarantining until they are cleared by the Department for Public Health.
He added that no one in his family has tested positive and that they "feel great". He said the first family was not in contact with anyone else following the exposure.
For the next week, Beshear's briefings will be done through a video camera. LEX 18 Political Analyst Bob Babbage says shows he's leading by example.
"He's taking a step to be extremely careful, very cautious, given what's happened. It's a good step to take and a lot of us have been in the same situation. Even if somebody gets the flu in your organization, you're a little mindful of that and we exercise a little care. But in the COVID area, people definitely want to take every step they can to keep themselves safe and others and it sounds like that's what he's doing," said Babbage.
Right now, Beshear says everyone in his family feels healthy. Babbage says the administration was likely prepared for a situation like this and it will be easy for him to adapt to work from home
"We've had governors sick before or have difficulties before in modern times. Governor (Martha Layne) Collins at one point. Governor (Wallace) Wilkinson at one point. They had lieutenant governors and other team members that could pitch in and do more. This is a team that has been very close together just because of the nature of things not going far from the Capitol and not having a lot of visitors in the Capitol, and definitely not going out of the state," said Babbage.
You can watch the video statement from Governor Beshear here.
