Gov. Andy Beshear signed into law six pieces of legislation recently passed by the General Assembly and provided an update on a sub-variant of Omicron.
Legislation the governor has signed into law:
• Senate Bill 104, which establishes in state law the Employment First Council to better serve and empower Kentuckians with disabilities and provide greater opportunities for these citizens and their families;
• House Concurrent Resolution 47, which encourages local school districts to purchase available goods from their local farmers and producers;
• Senate Bill 135, which helps county clerks begin to make more services available online;
• Senate Bill 106, which will help very small cities without an active city government spend funds to improve the lives of residents;
• House Bill 144, which provides relief to employers who may still be experiencing slow growth or tight margins due to the effects of the pandemic by reducing their unemployment tax costs and suspending an employer surcharge; and
• House Bill 436, which makes auctions safer for Kentuckians by making auctioneers more accountable to investigation and enforcement.
“I was heartened to hear that on some of this legislation, the goal was not just to help our businesses in need, but also to make sure our workers who fall on hard times have the benefits they need,” Gov. Beshear said. “I hope we can come out of this session with some form of a safety net still intact. When Kentuckians are knocked down, we ought to be helping them up.”
Omicron BA.2 Sub-variant
The Governor said the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant has been confirmed in 29 Kentucky residents since the first week of February.
These residents are from 13 different Kentucky counties.
Molecular sequencing is performed on only a small subset of cases, so there have likely been many more BA.2 infections that weren’t confirmed. According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), last week, approximately 35% of cases that went through molecular sequencing were identified as the BA.2 variant in the U.S.
Gov. Beshear said based on some early studies, BA.2 is thought to spread faster and be more infectious than the initial Omicron variant. It is too soon to know whether BA.2 will lead to an overall increase in cases, hospitalizations or deaths or if BA.2 causes more severe disease or can evade immunity from vaccines or prior infections.
The week ending March 20, 8,639 COVID-19 cases were reported in Kentucky and the average test positivity rate was 3.08%.
Flags lowered to honor former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
The Governor also directed that all state office buildings lower flags to half-staff in honor of the life and legacy of former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Flags will remain at half-staff until sunset on March 27. He encouraged individuals, businesses, and organizations throughout Kentucky to join in this tribute.