Kentuckians can preregister now; state officials also provide update on unemployment insurance
FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 8, 2021) – On Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear announced the Cardinal Stadium COVID-19 vaccination site in Louisville has 11,000 appointments that Kentuckians can preregister for at UofLHealth.org or by calling 502-681-1453.
“As you all know, vaccinations are the absolute most important thing we can be doing right now,” said Gov. Beshear. “We are in a race against COVID-19 variants to prevent any kind of fourth surge and defeat this virus once and for all.”
The vaccination site (2800 S. Floyd St., Louisville, KY 40209), which will become the state’s largest, opens April 12. The Governor also shared a video message from UofL Health’s chief medical officer, Dr. Jason Smith.
The Governor said more than 1.5 million Kentuckians have received at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. To see a list of vaccination sites that have openings this week, visit vaccinemap.ky.gov.
Case Information
As of 4 p.m. Thursday, April 8, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:
New cases today: 645
New deaths today: 16
New audit deaths: 0
Positivity rate: 2.81%
Total deaths: 6,214
Currently hospitalized: 377
Currently in ICU: 102
Currently on ventilator: 53
Top counties with the most positive cases today are: Jefferson, Fayette, Clark and Warren. Each county reported at least 19 new cases.
To see a list of those reported lost to the virus today, click here.
Unemployment Insurance Update
Today, Amy Cubbage, Gov. Beshear’s general counsel, updated Kentuckians on a new online appointment system for unemployment insurance (UI), Kentucky Career Center openings and an upcoming temporary shutdown of the UI system to address and prevent fraud.
New Online Appointment System Roll Out
Cubbage said the in-person appointment system for UI launched at 1 p.m. yesterday. Claimants made over 9,500 appointments across the state for April 15 through April 30.
Kentucky Career Center Openings
Cubbage said 13 Kentucky Career Centers (KCCs) are opening up next week for the claimants who made appointments this week.
The day of his or her appointment, a claimant should remember:
- Claimants must wear a mask at all times during the appointment.
- Claimants should remain in their vehicles until five minutes before the scheduled appointment. Due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, lines outside of offices are not permitted.
- Photo ID is required to enter KCC buildings.
- Temperatures will be taken at the door due to COVID-19.
- While staff make every effort to answer all questions during the appointment, UI specialists may not be able to provide a resolution during a single appointment. Some claims could require additional paperwork or take more time to complete, but another in-person appointment will not be required.
UI System Temporarily Shutting Down
Cubbage said the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, Office of Unemployment Insurance and the Commonwealth Office of Technology suspect criminal individuals or enterprises have attempted to gain unauthorized access to UI customer data.
“While this is a big step, given that this sophisticated attack could take money that was otherwise going to Kentuckians, it is a step we absolutely have to take,” said Gov. Beshear. “We can’t allow people to steal the state’s money and prevent those who are entitled to receive these dollars from getting the help they need.”
Using known or predictable user information like social security numbers, bad actors used automated tools to attempt to gain unauthorized access to a claimant accounts.
“Although the UI PINs are encrypted, it is possible for a person with enough computing power to guess an encrypted PIN by testing particularly weak or obvious four digit combinations,” said Cubbage. “We had 3,995 users who used a PIN that was 1234, more than 1,500 users who set PINs that were 2020 and more than 1,200 users whose PINs were set to 1111. To enhance the security of the system, we will be shutting down the UI system temporarily.”
All public facing UI systems will shut down for four days from April 9 at 12 a.m. EDT to April 13 at 12 a.m. EDT. Claimants will be unable to file new claims or request their benefits during this time, but UI staff will be able to backdate any new claims that should have been filed during the shutdown. Internal systems will remain operational so UI staff will still be working to process claims.
“If you have benefits to request and you have not been locked out of the system, you can access the system until tonight at midnight,” said Cubbage. “Letters are going out to active UI accounts giving them a new eight-digit PIN. Systems will be available on Tuesday to re-register or register for the first time through the new welcome pages at uiclaimsportal.ky.gov or through the KCC website.”
Claimants will need to:
- Create a new 12-digit password;
- Verify their email address and receive an access code through their email account;
- Use the new eight-digit PIN they were mailed;
- Know that the telephone claiming system (interactive voice response) will use the new eight-digit PIN; and
- Review all the information on their account to make sure it is correct.
If the last four digits of their bank account or routing number is not in their UI account, claimants will receive a paper check.
“The Labor Cabinet will be sending out a press release and posting information on the KCC homepage with detailed information,” Cubbage said. “Active claimants do not need to file a new claim when the system is back up.”
More Information
To see all vaccination sites and free transportation options to and from vaccination appointments, visit vaccine.ky.gov. To see a list of vaccination sites that have openings this week, visit vaccinemap.ky.gov. If Kentuckians have questions, they should call the state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline, 855-598-2246 or TTY 855-326-4654 (for deaf or hard-of-hearing Kentuckians).
To view the full daily report, incidence rate map, information on testing locations, vaccines, contact tracing, school reports and guidance, guidance for health care providers and the White House Coronavirus Task Force reports for Kentucky and more, visit kycovid19.ky.gov.
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