Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear hasn't stopped asking the public to remain home, wear face coverings and do whatever needs doing to slow the spread from the coronavirus as the state marked its deadliest day yet within the pandemic.
On Tuesday, Beshear announced an archive high 4,151 new cases of COVID-19 and also the deaths of 35 people. Hospitalizations have sharply risen too to at least one,777, and coronavirus patients occupy 441 ICU beds, another record.
“The virus is spreading so much it overwhelms any communal setting, any one. It's overwhelmed our long-term care facilities, it's overwhelmed our prisons, if this gets in. ” Beshear said. “Any places where individuals gather it will spread and ultimately will harm people.”
There are 173 long-term care residents using the virus and Beshear said 18 more residents have died.
Meanwhile the looming end of federal coronavirus relief spending threatens to hamper the state's capability to track the spread of the virus. Mark Carter with the Kentucky Department of Public Health discussed the state's contact tracing efforts, which have been funded by the federal CARES Act. That money will go out at the end of the entire year.
“We desperately need either extra time from the date, or additional funding, or both, in order to take the program into 2021 and obtain us through the months we need to cope with until we reach the point where there exists a widely available vaccine,” Carter said.
COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed in Kentucky in the past two months – six in ten from the state's total cases were reported in October and November. A lot more than 40% from the overall positive cases were found in November, making it the worst month for that state after it ducked the assault from the coronavirus in the first months of the spread. October and November saw 734 deaths, and COVID-19 forced lots of people to hospitals while hundreds needed intensive care or ventilators.
Other states within the Ohio Valley also have uncontrolled spread from the virus. Ohio reported a lot more than 9,000 new cases in 24 hours. On Monday, their state announced that hospitalizations in Ohio were at an all-time high with 5,060 patients. Hospitalization numbers have grown exponentially since Nov. 1, once the state had 1,700 hospitalizations.
The Ohio State University Wexner Clinic Chief Clinical Officer Andy Thomas also said people hospitalized for COVID-19 will crowd out other people who likewise need health care.
“The reality is that hospitals are earning difficult decisions about delaying care. It may be non-urgent care, but it’s care that could cause anyone to go to the ICU after surgery,” Thomas said. “A large amount of hospitals are delaying those surgeries simply because they can’t afford their ICUs to become overtaxed.”
West Virginia's coronavirus cases have mounted as well. The state reported 976 new cases .
