COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on the rise in Kentucky ahead of Thanksgiving
Saying “this pandemic isn’t done with us,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Monday that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state are “not just creeping up, they are moving up.”
He also offered several tips to have a safe Thanksgiving, including his mantra of getting vaccinated for the virus that has killed 10,676 Kentuckians.
Beshear said there is no cause for alarm now in the state but the virus is “taking off” again in Europe, with dead bodies “piling up” in Romania outside of morgues. “In places with the lowest vaccination rate, it is really tragic,” he said.
Kentucky has the tools to protect its residents, but people “cannot pretend it is not still with us,” he said.
It is too early to tell if “this is going to be new plateau that moves up and down or more like a bouncing ball,” said Beshear.
He provided figures that show the number of new cases for the last three days have been the highest for each day in four weeks — 2,048 with 42 deaths on Saturday, 1,018 with 15 deaths on Sunday and 822 with 44 new deaths on Monday.
The state’s positivity rate, which reflects how many of those tested are actually infected, is now at 6.56 percent, said Beshear. That is up from about 5.1 percent three weeks ago.
The state will need to see data over the next two to three weeks to determine if the virus level is at a plateau or is increasing, he said.
Data over the last few days, he said, show that hospitalizations are “ticking up” and the demand for infusions for monoclonal antibodies for treatment are going up across the state. He said the numbers of COVID cases in intensives care and use of ventilators are “fairly stable.”
Twenty-nine hospitals across the state are still suffering critical staffing shortages, Beshear added.
The latest figures show that Kentuckians should remain cautious with Thanksgiving approaching.
Besides getting vaccinations and boosters, he recommended not attending a gathering if you feel sick, wearing masks indoors with people who are unvaccinated and/or not boosted and keeping attendance numbers low.
He did not offer a specific number on how low attendance should be but he said there is “a big difference” between 10 to 20 and 100.
The Democratic governor offered good news on vaccinations, saying there is “an uptick” in recent days. The top five counties in residents getting at least first shots are Fayette at 71 percent, Woodford 70 percent, Jefferson 67 percent, Perry 65 percent and Campbell 65 percent.
He said 2,650,790 Kentuckians — or about 59 percent of those eligible — have been vaccinated.
Beshear said he will have another news conference on COVID-19 in Kentucky on Dec. 2, skipping this Thursday because of Thanksgiving and next Monday to spend time with his family on his 44th birthday.
