Governor Beshear said the state has seen COVID-19 daily cases go from 200 to 3000 over a one month period. His weekly briefing Thursday on statewide activities was almost solely focused on the pandemic.
A large portion of the briefing in the State Capitol included both in-person and video remarks from hospital officials. Many of their comments focused on the increasing Delta variant patients at their facilities. Cindy Lucchese is Chief Nurse Executive with University of Louisville Physicians. “And while I wish I could share a more positive message and tell you we’re winning the war against this virus, that is just not true,” said Lucchese.
Lucchese said young healthy people are becoming very sick, including pediatric patients. More than one hospital official noted most ICU patients are unvaccinated. Chief Medical Officer at St. Clair Healthcare, William Melahn, concluded his remarks by saying caregivers are, “worn out, but not going to give up.”
Governor Beshear said the current Delta variant is stressing healthcare capacities across the Commonwealth. He noted it’s not yet to the point of establishing a field hospital. And Beshear said there will not be a need for business shutdowns and capacity restrictions. The governor bases that on vaccinations and masking measures, including a requirement that school children wear masks in class.
Regarding the vaccination rate, Beshear said, comparing a month ago to the last two weeks, there was a doubling of vaccinations. “Right now I believe that doubling is holding steady. I don’t yet think that we are seeing a growth on top of that. But again, it’s somewhat early,” said Beshear.
Beshear said a whole lot of vaccination reports tend to come in at the end of the week. Asked about calling a special session of the legislature to address the current COVID situation, the governor said the decisions need to be timely and they can’t be made by a hundred-plus people.
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