This Week In Conversation: Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman Talks COVID-19 Response

Governor Andy Beshear has announced that there will be no in-person classes in Kentucky schools for the rest of the academic year because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Students will continue their online classes through their districts’ non-traditional instruction programs. Beshear says Kentucky needs to show a steady decline in new COVID-19 cases and meet other benchmarks before he will ease business closures and other restrictions. Those closures have led to soaring jobless claims, which have overwhelmed Kentucky’s unemployment processing system. This week on WFPL’s In Conversation, we spoke with Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman about the state’s response to the pandemic.  Coleman is also secretary of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. WFPL's Amina Elahi joined us to give us an update on the budget address Mayor Greg Fischer gave to the Metro Council on Thursday evening, and to tell us how the council has responded so far. And we heard from Jennie Cole, Director of Collection Access at the Filson Historical Society. The Filson is collecting stories and artifacts to help document the current coronavirus pandemic, through the experiences of the citizens of Louisville.