As of 4 p.m. June 2, Gov. Beshear said there were at least 10,185 coronavirus cases in Kentucky, 155 of which were newly confirmed Tuesday.

Unfortunately, Gov. Beshear reported three new deaths Tuesday, raising the total to 442 Kentuckians lost to the virus.

The deaths reported Tuesday include a 69-year-old woman from Clay County, a 94-year-old man from Jefferson County and a 92-year-old man from Muhlenberg County.

“Let’s keep lighting our homes up green,” the Governor said. “Let’s continue to ring our bells at 10 a.m. Let’s do it for those that we’ve lost from this and from senseless violence. Everybody that we’ve lost should still be here and deserves that same level of compassion.”

At least 3,275 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus. 

U.S. Supreme Court decision

Gov. Beshear spoke Tuesday about a new decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that confirms that his actions to protect public health are consistent with the U.S. Constitution.

In four federal court cases, plaintiffs – including Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron – argued that Kentucky’s executive order on mass gatherings, which prohibited people from congregating in groups, was unconstitutional. Gov. Beshear and officials with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services insisted that the restrictions were both legal and necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Late Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order agreeing with Gov. Beshear and confirming that the order limiting mass gatherings did not violate the Constitution.

In an opinion rejecting a church’s challenge to California’s order against mass gatherings, Chief Justice John Roberts said state officials have broad latitude to protect public health and admonished federal courts not to “second-guess” states’ temporary emergency measures.

“Where those broad limits are not exceeded, they should not be subject to second-guessing by an ‘unelected federal judiciary,’ which lacks the background, competence, and expertise to assess public health and is not accountable to the people,” Roberts wrote in his opinion.

The Governor’s Office of General Counsel is making the various federal courts aware of the Supreme Court’s decisive opinion, which should resolve all current cases challenging the Governor’s orders.

Testing expansion

Gov. Beshear continues to urge Kentuckians to get tested for COVID-19. For information on how to register at sites throughout the commonwealth visit kycovid19.ky.gov.

“I know we are now in the upper half of states for the total number of tests that have been run, and that’s an incredible story, given where we started,” the Governor said about ongoing testing efforts.

More information

Read about other key updates, actions and information from Gov. Beshear and his administration at governor.ky.gov, kycovid19.ky.gov and the Governor’s official social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Kentuckians can also access translated COVID-19 information and daily summaries of the Governor’s news conference at tinyurl.com/kygovespanol (Spanish) and tinyurl.com/kygovtranslations​ (more than 20 additional languages).