UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
In Re: TWELFTH SUPPLEMENTAL ORDER GENERAL ORDER
CONCERNING COURT OPERATIONS NO. 21-16
RELATED TO COVID-19
***
On March 20, 2020, and in light of the then-emerging COVID-19 pandemic, this Court
imposed a variety of restrictions on access to its courthouses. See In Re: Court Operations Related
to COVID-19, General Order No 20-03 (March 20, 2020). On May 27, 2020, the Court amended
these restrictions to include the requirement that all persons over two years of age seeking entry to
any of its courthouses wear a face covering or mask at all times within all public areas of the
courthouses. See In Re: Second Supplemental Order Concerning Court Operations Related to
COVID-19, General Order No 20-11 (May 27, 2020).
On May 14, 2021, consistent with the Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully
Vaccinated People issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and in light
of Governor Andy Beshear’s indication that the Commonwealth of Kentucky would immediately
follow these recommendations, the Court entered General Order 21-11, requiring only those
individuals who have not been “fully vaccinated,” as that term is defined by the CDC, to wear a
face covering in order to enter a Western District courthouse.
On July 27, 2021, the CDC revised its Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully
Vaccinated People, recommending that fully vaccinated people wear masks while in public indoor
settings located in areas of “substantial or high transmission” of COVID-19.1 At present, this
includes the vast majority of the Western District of Kentucky.2
Based upon the forgoing, it is hereby ORDERED that the following restrictions shall
apply to all courthouses within the Western District of Kentucky that are located in areas of
substantial or high transmission of COVID-19:
1
See CDC, Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People. Updated July 28, 2021.
2
See the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker.
1. COURTHOUSE ACCESS. All persons over two years of age shall wear a face
covering or mask at all times within all public areas of the courthouse, regardless of their
vaccination status.
2. COURTROOM ACCESS. Subject to the discretion of the presiding judge, all
persons over two years of age who are present during court proceedings shall wear a face covering
or mask.
3. DAILY MONITORING OF PUBLIC HEALTH CONDITIONS. The Clerk is
directed to check the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker each week and to promptly notify the Chief
Judge of the transmission status within each of the Court’s divisions.
4. NOTICE. Due to anticipated variations in the public health conditions of the
counties comprising each of the Western District’s divisions, the Court shall communicate this
Order’s current applicability within each of its divisional courthouses by way of posted notices in
said courthouses as well as notice posted prominently on its website at www.kywd.uscourts.gov.
This Order shall be effective upon entry. All provisions of previous General Orders
concerning court operations that are not inconsistent with this Order shall remain in effect.
DATED: August 2, 2021
ENTERED
J J. JR., CLERK
8/2/2021
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
