Governor Beshear announces 54 new COVID-19 cases, three deaths in Kentucky

Governor Andy Beshear's news conference began Friday with one upbeat message: "We will get through this."

That message comes as distressing numbers are released from the commonwealth's largest city.

Shortly before the news conference began, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced 43 new cases of COVID-19 in Jefferson County alone, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Those numbers are not consistent with the Governor's county-by-county totals, but Beshear did warn that local health departments may have some discrepancies compared to the state numbers.

In the news conference, Gov. Beshear confirmed 54 new cases in Kentucky, bringing the total up to 302. Two of those cases are in Pulaski County.

One of the cases is in Lawerence County, which is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the area.

The governor also announced three new deaths in Jefferson, Fayette and Hopkins Counties. That brings Kentucky's total to eight.

Gov. Beshear stressed that the state has more time than other states to "flatten the curve" and slow the spread of the virus through social distancing.

State officials say they are also working harder to protect the homeless from the virus through government housing programs, though they indicated they are unsure if they will receive support from the federal government.