COVID-19 has ‘likely plateaued’ in Kentucky. 17 new deaths and 177 new cases Tuesday.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 17 new COVID-19 related deaths Tuesday, the highest death toll in at least two weeks, bringing the total number of dead in Kentucky to 171. At least 3,192 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Kentucky, including 177 new cases Tuesday.
“We lost 17 people today and while I imagine there will still be days worse than this, I don’t want there to be many,” Beshear said. “And I know you don’t want to either.”
Beshear shared the information of one of the 17 people who died — Doug Woods from Hopkins County. Just two days ago, his wife Freda Ferguson Woods died with COVID-19 and was memorialized by Beshear during his daily press conference. The couple would have celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary this July.
“The coronavirus has now done something unthinkable to this family,” Beshear said, choking up. “Both their grandmother and grandfather taken within two days.”
Of the people who died Tuesday, 13 were residents of nursing homes, which have been hit hard by the virus. At least 41.5 percent of the total deaths in Kentucky have been residents of nursing homes. Beshear announced 46 new positive cases among nursing home residents Tuesday, bringing the total to 454. There have been cases reported among residents or staff at 54 facilities.
He said the state is shifting a significant portion of its coronavirus testing capacity to long-term care facilities.
At least 33,328 people have been tested in Kentucky, or about .75 percent of the population. Currently, there are 286 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, 165 of which are currently in intensive care. At least 1,266 people have recovered from the virus.
Despite Tuesday’s high death toll, Beshear said the three-day-average of reported new COVID-19 cases, at 184, has remained steady, though it has not yet started decreasing.
“We have, in fact, likely plateaued,” Beshear said.
In Lexington, the health department has been announcing new cases in the single digits for two weeks. On Tuesday, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department announced one new case. The city has not announced a coronavirus-related death since April 6.
Reopening plans being evaluated
Beshear and Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s Public Health Commissioner, have said the state must see a 14-day decrease in the rate of new cases before most businesses can start slowly reopening.
A task force composed of LaTasha Buckner, Beshear’s chief of staff; transportation cabinet secretary Jim Gray; Economic Development cabinet secretary Larry Hayes; and Labor cabinet secretary Larry Roberts will begin examining proposals for businesses to reopen.
Buckner said the group will focus on how businesses will treat those who are in a vulnerable population; how they’ll report new positive cases and help trace their contacts; how much paid sick leave they’ll offer employees; and the availability of masks and other protective equipment for their employees and customers.
“We want to make sure we’re all working together on this,” Buckner said. “We want to be doing this the best way, not just the quickest way.”
Beshear took a veiled jab at Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia, all of which have said they are moving forward with plans to reopen in coming days. The governor urged people not to travel to states that are making “reckless” decisions as Kentucky tries to limit the spread of the virus.
“Avoiding a second spike will restore our economy more quickly,” he said.
More testing sites opening
One of the benchmarks for allowing the state to begin reopening is testing capacity. Stack said the state has between one-fourth and one-third of the ability it needs to test people.
Beshear announced new testing sites in Calloway County and Christian County as the state pushes to get more people tested. Those sites will be in addition to drive-in testing sites operating this week in Somerset, Madisonville, Paducah and Pikeville that are sponsored by Kroger. Beshear said those Kroger drive-in sites can test around 1,000 people each over three days, though the sites fell well short of that goal on the first day.
“Our testing capacity has increased dramatically, but we have a long way to go from there,” Beshear said.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 5:37 PM.
