A 9-month-old baby girl in Hopkins County who was diagnosed with the coronavirus has died, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday.

Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said that while it is possible the virus directly contributed to the infant’s death, it is also possible that it did not.

“It may be one of those things we never come to find out for sure,” Stack said during Beshear’s daily briefing in Frankfort.

The infant – the youngest Kentuckian to be counted among virus-related deaths – was among one of eight newly announced deaths Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 450.

“The lead cause of death will not be COVID-19, but the way that we have listed every other individual is that if it is a contributing factor, we list it on our COVID list,” Beshear said. “This is a reminder of how deadly this virus can be (and) how precious all of our lives are.”

Stack also asked people to remain vigilant in combating the virus.

“We have no prevention, there’s no vaccine, we have no treatment (and) there is not going to be one immediately. So for the time being, the only thing we can do is try to minimize or slow the spread of this disease,” he said.

In regard to a potential case spike amid more than a week of public demonstrations about police brutality, Stack said there is a significant time delay before someone might test positive, so a surge might come two to three weeks “after a major event.” He also said it would take up to two months before cases would reach a “really bad place.”

Meanwhile, Beshear said there are now 10,410 coronavirus cases statewide, 265 of which are newly confirmed and 218 are considered probable.

At least 3,283 people have recovered, 488 are currently hospitalized and 68 are in intensive care.

Stack said the numbers don’t indicate an uptick of cases and “at worst, it would be a plateau of some sort.”

He said that when the number of tests goes up, but the positive rate isn’t increasing, it could be partly because of the volume.

At least 258,767 total people have been tested statewide, which is about 5.8 percent of the state’s 4.4 million population.

The Barren River Area Development District’s COVID-19 Dashboard, which uses data from the state Department of Public Health, showed 1,765 cases Wednesday in its 10-county region. Those include 1,067 in Warren, 235 in Butler, 155 in Logan, 96 in Allen, 57 in Edmonson, 55 in Simpson, 49 in Barren, 23 in Hart, 21 in Monroe and seven in Metcalfe.

In the Barren River District Health Department’s eight-county region, officials confirmed 1,634 total cases, including 1,079 in Warren, 228 in Butler, 156 in Logan, 61 in Edmonson, 52 in Simpson, 44 in Barren, 28 in Hart and seven in Metcalfe. Of those, 915 people have reportedly recovered.

There have been 41 total virus-related deaths in the district, including 13 confirmed deaths in Butler, 10 in Edmonson, seven in Warren, four in Logan, three in Simpson, two in Metcalfe and one in Barren.

The number of tests in Warren County more than tripled in the month of May compared to April, going from 2,783 to 8,531 as of Sunday, according to Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon. Since March, at least 11,461 tests have been conducted in Warren County, which means nearly 9 percent of the roughly 130,000 residents have been tested – close to double the statewide rate.

There are at least 100 coronavirus cases in Allen County, according to an update Wednesday from the Allen County Health Department, which is not part of the Barren River district.

Numbers often differ between the state and local sources because of different reporting methods.

Also during Beshear’s briefing, Executive Cabinet Secretary Michael Brown discussed the death investigation of David McAtee, who died early Monday when authorities were reportedly trying to disperse a “large crowd” amid protests in Louisville.

Brown said it is believed that at least two Louisville Metro Police Department officers and two Kentucky National Guardsmen fired weapons during the time McAtee was fatally shot. Investigators still think McAtee died of a single gunshot wound. Although a full bullet has not been recovered, some bullet fragments are being processed.

Brown did not comment on video released Tuesday by LMPD that, according to acting Louisville Metro police Chief Robert Schroeder, apparently shows McAtee firing a gun as officers approached his BBQ business.

In recent days, protests honoring the lives of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have spread across the world. Taylor, a black woman, was fatally shot by police during a no-knock raid in Louisville. Floyd, also black, died May 25 when then-Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes while Floyd pleaded for air. Chauvin, who is white, has been fired and charged with murder.

Beshear, asked if he would kneel in solidarity with protesters, said, “Yes, I think I would.” He added that former NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel in protest of police brutality and racism in 2016 was the start of a “very civil protest” that now is encompassing more people.

– Follow multimedia journalist Emily Zantow on Twitter @EmilyZantowNews or visit bgdailynews.com.