Governor Beshear says there’s hope the Omicron variant of COVID will peak in Kentucky over the next couple of weeks. For now, the governor said some Kentucky hospitals continue to struggle when it comes to capacity. During a briefing with reporters, Beshear was asked if he might consider requesting national guard members to serve as substitute teachers, a move seen in New Mexico. The governor said more than 440 guardsmen and women were already sent to hospitals in Kentucky. “That required us to go beyond volunteers because the Guard has been stretched so thin and they just of course came off deployment from the tornadoes in western Kentucky. So right now, I do not foresee using our Guard in that manner,” said Beshear.
Governor Beshear said the Commonwealth is seeing about one thousand additional COVID vaccinations each day. He noted the vaccination rate for all eligible Kentuckians stands at 68%. Beshear added the 19% level for those age five through seven is, in his words, “way too low.”
Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman announced Thursday U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has signed a secretarial disaster declaration for 15 Kentucky counties. The disaster declaration follows the destructive tornado event in western Kentucky. Coleman said it will provide additional assistance to those working in the agriculture industry. “These counties are considered primary natural disaster areas for agriculture. The secretarial disaster declaration will expand resources available for ag producers in these counties as we work together to rebuild these operations,” explained Coleman.
Governor Beshear reported state assistance for uninsured homeowners and renters will increase from 10% to 20% above that offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The governor said the deadline for applying for FEMA assistance is February eleventh.
