FRANKFORT - He's at war with the new coronavirus, and Kentucky's new Democratic governor is drawing unusually strong bipartisan praise.

Gov. Andy Beshear has taken a buck-stops-here approach to the global pandemic, which wasn't even a blip on the political radar of the Bluegrass State when he took office in December.

Now he is the state's de facto coronavirus czar.

Each day, Beshear goes before the cameras for daily virus updates, ordering disruptions to everyday life and persuading Kentucky residents to go along with his fight against the spread of the virus.

Republican strategists and Democrats alike are praising Beshear for his unflappable handling of the threat.