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FRANKFORT – Gov. Andy Beshear has directed that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff from sunrise until sunset on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, in honor of all of the Kentuckians lost to COVID-19, including the more than 30 educators and K-12 school employees. This tribute coincides with the funeral of a 29-year-old Jenkins Independent Schools teacher and the interment of a Lee County educator, the third person from that school system to die from COVID-19 in the recent surge of the virus.

The Governor previously lowered the flag to half-staff for a week after Kentucky suffered its first 100 losses of the coronavirus pandemic.

Early in the pandemic, and as a sign of compassion and healing, the Governor’s Mansion was lit green following the third reported COVID-19 death in Kentucky. Shortly thereafter, the dome of the State Capitol was lit green and has remained so ever since.

The Kentucky State Police Honor Guard placed a wreath in the Capitol Rotunda to mark the loss of the first 150 Kentuckians to the virus and again to mark the loss of 1,000. A large wreath with green lights was placed on the front of the Capitol when the commonwealth lost 2,000 Kentuckians to the virus and, in January, more than 3,000 flags were planted on the lawn of the Capitol to commemorate all Kentuckians lost at that time.

To date, more than 8,000 Kentuckians have died due to COVID-19 and plans are underway to develop a permanent memorial on the grounds of the Capitol.

Gov. Beshear encourages individuals, businesses and organizations throughout the commonwealth to join in this tribute. Flag status information is available at https://governor.ky.gov/flag-status.