Pegasus Institute

Despite being a southern state in every way imaginable, with a culture completely consistent with that of the Upper South, a shared history with the American South, and everything from dialect to food preferences that align incontrovertible with the region, Kentucky is partnered with six Midwestern states to coordinate reopening their state economies. This week, several states, Kentucky included, have provided additional details about their plans to reopen their state's econo

New data shows that Kentucky's hospitalizations related to COVID-19 have slowed considerably this week, with daily new admissions going down by more than 75% over the last seven days. As of April 24th, the state has 303 individuals hospitalized for COVID-19, with 164 individuals currently in the ICU. The new admissions bring the total number during the pandemic to 1,143. Friday's numbers bring the average daily admissions over the last seven days to 19.2 individuals per day.

Comparisons to Tennessee are commonplace in Kentucky and the state government response to the coronavirus has been no different. In the first weeks of economic shutdowns, some outlets compared the total number of cases in Tennessee to the number in Kentucky, criticizing Volunteer State Governor Bill Lee for not enacting more draconian economic constraints. The widely used justifications for economic shutdowns was to avoid overwhelming the health care system, a universally des

Yesterday, the White House announced its public health expert led plan to begin reopening the US economy. The plan, known as "Opening Up America Again," allows for a phased return to normal, helping to mitigate the potential for additional waves of COVID-19 and protecting the most vulnerable. A full copy of the plan, provided by the White House, is available here. What are the Three Phases? Phase One Individuals - Vulnerable populations continue sheltering in place - When in

New data compiled by The Tax Foundation, using today's record unemployment numbers, shows that Kentucky is 8th highest in the United States in unemployment compensation claims as a percentage of the civilian workforce. As of April 4th, 11.9% of Kentucky's civilian labor force has applied for or is receiving unemployment compensation. Among neighboring states, only Ohio joins Kentucky in double digits, with 11.5% of its population having applied for or receiving unemployment c