Governor Beshear Announces Timeline for Phase 1 Economic Reopening
On Wednesday, April 29, Governor Beshear announced the Phase 1 timeline to reopen many Kentucky's businesses and industries effected by the COVID-19 pandemic. With adherence to provided rules to reopen and industry specific requirements, the following sectors are available to reopen at the prescribed dates:

  • May 11 – Manufacturing, construction, vehicle and vessel dealerships, professional services (at 50% of pre-outbreak capacity), horse racing (without spectators), pet grooming and boarding
  • May 20 – Retail, houses of worship
  • May 25 – Social gatherings of no more than 10 people, barbers, salons, cosmetology businesses and similar services.
The phased reopen approach is aligned within the Governor's Healthy at Work initiative, which set out public health benchmarks for reopening Kentucky’s economy. These benchmarks closely follow the White House’s Guidelines for Reopening America.

During the Healthy at Work phases, the Department for Public Health will evaluate individual businesses’ ability to safely reopen. Industry groups and trade associations are encouraged to communicate with and gather input from their membership to dev elop and  submit reopen proposals  on behalf of their members. Individual businesses may submit via the  online reopen form .

The Kentucky Association for Economic Development looks forward to continuing to engage in the economic recovery of the Commonwealth and will advise as other Kentucky sectors are scheduled to reopen.