‘Hit harder and harder.’ Kentucky saw its highest-ever week of new COVID-19 cases.
Kentucky reported more new cases of COVID-19 last week than any other week in the pandemic, Gov. Andy Beshear said on Monday as he announced 2,619 new infections and 25 additional deaths.
“This isn’t just tragic because of how much real sickness, long-term health effects and death are going to follow it. It’s also tragic because this is preventable,” the governor said at the state Capitol. “We continue to be hit harder and harder. This is the fastest growing thing we’ve seen.”
From August 23 to August 29, the state confirmed 29,598 new cases of the virus. Over the weekend the state reported 7,299 more cases — 4,050 on Saturday and 3,249 on Sunday — and 31 additional deaths. On Monday, the rate of Kentuckians testing positive reached 13.45%, up from 13.33% on Friday. Four of the deaths reported Monday were people in their 30s, Beshear said, and 29% of the new cases were in kids under the age of 18.
The number of virus-related hospitalizations of largely unvaccinated Kentuckians continues to balloon and set records, pushing some hospitals beyond capacity and straining already thin resources. Of the state’s 96 hospitals, 58 are reporting critical staffing shortages, he said. “The level of cases has been overwhelming our hospitals. We are living in a reality that some COVID patients that are sick are being treated in their cars when there isn’t room for them.”
On Monday, a record 2,198 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, including 21 kids under age 18 (an uptick of 69 people from Friday); a record 615 are in an ICU, including seven children (23 more than Friday); and a record 384 are relying on a ventilator to breathe, including three children (35 more than Friday).
Over the weekend, St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead set up a surge tent in its parking lot outside the emergency department to both provide additional space for patients awaiting care and to treat patients if there are no beds available. On Monday morning, the hospital had no available intensive care unit beds for coronavirus or non-coronavirus patients.
Roughly 57% of the state is at least partially vaccinated. The state has administered 27,505 new doses since Friday. Young people continue to account for the lowest immunization rates: 85% of people over the age of 65 are inoculated, while 58% of people ages 40 to 49, 53% of those 30 to 39, and 43% of those 18-29 are vaccinated, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 4:42 PM.
