‘Deadliest day.’ 33 new KY COVID-19 deaths, 2,931 cases. Contact tracers overwhelmed.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 2,931 cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the third highest number of cases in a day, and 33 new coronavirus-related deaths, the highest in a single day, amid “unrelenting” spread of the virus.
All of the highest days of cases have occurred in November. There have been at least 142,008 COVID-19 cases in Kentucky and 1,697 deaths.
“The house is on fire at this point,” Beshear said. “And we need everybody to join the bucket brigade and do what it takes to address this crisis.”
Beshear said he will announce new restrictions aimed at slowing the virus on Wednesday. He did not specify what the restrictions would be but said they would be mandates and not mere recommendations. “Asking nicely” has not produced the results necessary to curb the spread of the virus, he said.
In response to a question, he said the restrictions would affect bars and restaurants, which can currently seat patrons indoors at 50 percent capacity.
Unlike Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Beshear said he will not impose a statewide curfew and reaffirmed that the new rules “will not look like March.” He said the state will create assistance programs to help people whose jobs and businesses are affected by the new restrictions.
Beshear said he will be briefing leading legislators and several interest groups about the changes Wednesday morning, before announcing them publicly at 4 p.m.
Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner, called the current spread of the virus “terrifying.”
“The numbers show no sign of relenting,” Stack said. “This week is on track to set a new record, already, with just two days worth of data. There has to be some sort of intervention.”
Beshear said the White House supports more restrictions in the state to limit the spread of the virus and said he hoped the White House’s support would “stop the silliness,” referencing a partisan divide over the restrictions Beshear has put in place. He said the White House has called the spread of the virus across the country “aggressive,” “unrelenting” and “expanding.”
The announced deaths Tuesday ranged from people in their 30s to people in their 90s. It took Beshear a minute and a half to read out the ages, genders and counties of those who died.
“Today, at least in terms of announcing those we’ve lost, is the deadliest day that we’ve had in our fight against this virus,” Beshear said.
The positivity rate in Kentucky is 9.1 percent, the highest since before testing was widely available. There are 1,521 Kentuckians in the hospital with the virus, an increase of 46.6 percent since two weeks ago, 354 of whom are in intensive care.
“Probably 15 percent or more of all patients in the hospital in Kentucky are in the hospital with COVID-19,” Stack said.
Positive people told to notify their contacts
The high number of cases has overwhelmed contact tracers in the state. Judy Mattingly, director of the Franklin County Health Department, said it is becoming impossible for health departments to call people who may have come in contact with the virus. Mattingly said local health departments are asking people who test positive to notify people with whom they were in close contact.
A close contact is defined as someone who has been within six feet of someone who has COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes, up to 48 hours before the person with COVID-19 started showing symptoms or was tested, whichever came first. Those contacts must then quarantine for 14 days from their last exposure.
Kevin Hall, spokesman for the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, asked anyone who tested positive to begin their isolation period immediately.
“We will only be able to follow up on contacts in certain higher-risk situations so that our team can focus on identifying and contacting the increasing number of new cases and isolating them,” Hall said.
Beshear said there are problems with Kentuckians giving basic information to contact tracers about who they’ve come in contact with and that the state has not looked into using a phone app to contact trace because of concerns over people’s privacy.
There are 1,667 active coronavirus cases among nursing home residents and 1,015 active cases among nursing home staff. There have been 1,095 coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes.
Last week, 989 students and 523 staff tested positive in Kentucky K-12 schools, Beshear said. Another 6,370 students had to start quarantine last week, along with 1,086 staff.
“And we’re seeing that number increasing,” Beshear said.
A new federally-funded testing center has opened at Keeneland in Lexington. It will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 4:39 PM.
