Aug. 18—Following guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and support from leaders in health care, business and education, last week, the Governor issued an executive order to mandate face coverings in all of Kentucky's K-12 schools. To ensure all kids had access to masks last year, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and First Lady Britainy Beshear launched the Coverings for Kids initiative, which collected more than 1.8 million masks from donors, according to a news release.

The most significant Coverings for Kids contributor was the Ford Motor Co., which donated 1.5 million masks last year. The company also supplied 2 million masks to the state's PPE stockpile last September.

According to the release, Tuesday, First Lady Beshear announced Ford has answered the call once again by donating 1 million more masks for Kentucky children.

"As students head into this new school year — which will undoubtedly be a challenge while we battle the delta variant — I cannot overstate how important this donation is for our state," First Lady Beshear said in a release. "Until every child can get vaccinated, masks are our greatest weapon against this virus and a vital tool to keep students and teachers safe and healthy."

Memorial

In honoring the two late Zoneton fire leaders Major Garry Key and Chief Rob Orkies, who both died of COVID-19, current Zoneton Fire Chief Kevin Moultonsaid: "I'm glad to be the voice of these men when I say, please get vaccinated. I know they were waiting to get vaccinated, but unfortunately the vaccine was just a few months too late. If vaccinated, life could be different: Wives would have husbands; kids would have fathers; grandkids would have grandfathers; and the Fire Department would still have mentors and leaders."

"Looking at our medical runs that we have made in the last month, they have dramatically increased because of the new delta variant and the illness that delta variant is bringing with it," he added in a release. "As many have said, this variant is affecting our little ones and younger people more than the earlier COVID-19 strain. Please help us as first responders protect our families and those that we protect daily. We need your help now. Please get vaccinated."

Shot at a Million

The Governor continued to encourage all Kentuckians 12 and older to get a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine and then sign up for a chance to win $1 million or a full college scholarship at ShotAtAMillion.ky.gov. Two $1 million winners and 10 full-scholarship winners were announced on July 2 and July 30. On Aug. 27, another $1 million winner and five more full-scholarship winners will be announced.