New Kentucky coronavirus deaths hit an all-time high. 37 deaths and 3,601 new cases.
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 3,601 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Wednesday and 37 deaths, making it the deadliest day in the commonwealth for the second day in a row.
Tuesday brought 35 deaths, making it the second deadliest day since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Wednesday’s deaths included people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Since Sunday, the state has reported 95 coronavirus deaths, which means though this week is only half over, it’s already the fourth deadliest week.
Six of the deaths announced Wednesday were people under the age of 60, the governor said, and 16 of the deaths were residents of nursing and assisted living homes.
“Now is the time where action is necessary and inaction is deadly,” Beshear said. “The [COVID-19] risk to all Americans is at an historic high.”
The rate of Kentuckians testing positive continues to climb, topping out an another historic high Wednesday of 9.62 percent.
Tuesday’s case tally is the sixth highest day overall, for a state case total of 186,765. The death toll has reached 1,980. There are 1,768 people hospitalized with the virus statewide, 427 of whom are in intensive care and 234 are on ventilators.
Some hospitals reaching ‘the brink’
Beshear said a marked surge in cases as a result of Thanksgiving activities will “compromise” Kentucky’s health care system, noting that “certainly the increase in hospitalizations we’re [already] seeing across Kentucky [is] stretching many of our systems to the brink.”
And Christmas and other holidays less than a month away only threaten to exacerbate that projected surge, according to Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack, who said “we have every reason to believe” that Thanksgiving and other December holidays “could place us in a very difficult situation as we go forward . . . overwhelming the health care system.”
But if enough people obey the current statewide restrictions in place, all of which center on wearing a mask and staying six feet away from others, it will help the state thwart that likelihood, Stack said. Citing University of Louisville data, Stack said “high compliance” with the state’s coronavirus restrictions in the coming weeks could help the state avoid more than 2,000 hospitalizations.
Otherwise, “we have no doubts that if the current exponential growth continues, we will go over our hospital capacity,” Beshear said.
In nursing homes, there are 141 new infections among residents and 87 among nursing home staff, increasing the number of active cases in those facilities to nearly 3,300. Fifteen new child care centers have reported at least one case, and there are new positives among 20 staff and 13 kids.
In the last two weeks across Kentucky’s jails and prisons, 700 inmates and 140 staff have tested positive, and six more inmates have died.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 4:31 PM.
