Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is taking still more dramatic steps to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, insisting on the closure of more businesses and calling on lawmakers to halt debate on controversial, non-budget bills or head home.
The wave of state-recommended closures continued Tuesday, with the governor adding a long list of public-facing businesses, including entertainment and recreation facilities, community centers, gyms, hair salons, spas, concert venues, theaters, and sporting facilities. Beshear says they should close their doors by 5 PM Wednesday night.
Staying open, on the condition that they follow the CDC's strict social distancing guidelines, are drive-through eateries, hotels, veterinarians, groceries, trash collectors, car repair businesses, and public transit.
The remarks come on the heels of gubernatorial recommendations to shut down in-house dining facilities at restaurants and bars, and to close all schools, public and private, for at least two weeks.
In recent press briefings, the governor has increasingly appealed to Kentuckians’ sense of civic duty, saying now is not the time to look for loopholes and exceptions.
"I know everybody and business right now thinks 'oh, but us.' We just can't be that way," Beshear said Tuesday. "This is just us. Every single family, every single person in Kentucky. We are not a member of this business or that business, this party and that party. We're all Kentuckians battling coronavirus."
Beshear also said he’s “done with politics” surrounding debate over the fate of the legislative session. He laid out two options he said lawmakers could consider: passing a budget quickly and ending the session, or adjourning now and reconvening during a special session he would call once he feels it’s safe to return.
