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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky has been hit by record numbers of COVID-19 patients in hospitals and intensive care units as cases are driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, the governor said on Monday Andy Beshear.
More than 20 Kentucky hospitals are facing a critical staff shortage, and some hospitals are converting spaces to handle the influx of intensive care patients, the governor said.
“Our hospitalizations have doubled roughly every two weeks,” Beshear said at a press conference. “And folks, that means we’re really getting closer to every bed in the whole of the Commonwealth that we can staff.”
Beshear presented grim statistics to show the severity of the surge. The state has 2,596 new cases of COVID-19 – a pandemic record for any Monday in Kentucky – and 17 more deaths linked to the virus.
More than 1,890 patients infected with the virus have been hospitalized in Kentucky, including 529 in intensive care units, he said. A record 301 Kentucky virus patients were on ventilators.
The surge comes as the Republican-dominated legislature assumes considerably more control over Kentucky’s response to COVID-19. The state’s Supreme Court on Saturday paved the way for the entry into force of laws limiting the governor’s emergency powers.
The Democratic governor acknowledged the change of power on Monday.
“So far I have carried football,” making the “tough and unpopular decisions,” Beshear said. Based on the court ruling, those political decisions will now be made by lawmakers, he said.
“I certainly hope that they will (…) make the best and sometimes the most courageous decisions that are necessary,” said the governor.
He raised a contentious issue, saying Kentucky was “reaching the point” where a statewide mask warrant would be needed in response to filling hospitals. Beshear’s options potentially include summoning lawmakers to a special session to deal with pandemic issues.
“I think at the very least we can hopefully come to an agreement on some basic tools that we are using to combat this,” he said. “And then maybe it will take a more in-depth conversation for the others.”
State Senate Speaker Robert Stivers said lawmakers would be ready if they were summoned again by the governor.
“We’ve been formulating things for some time that we think would be effective,” he told reporters. “And if the governor decides to call us into a special session, we’ll be ready to deploy these things.” I hope we will do this in conjunction with the governor’s office.
Stivers stressed that “COVID is very real” and that “we have to do all we can” to get people to get vaccinated.
“The best way to deal with it and deal with it is to get as many shots as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, the governor exercised some of his authority on Monday, announcing that National Guard personnel would provide logistical and administrative support starting September 1 at select hospitals in Kentucky. Bowling Green Medical Center, St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead and Pikeville Medical Center will receive initial assistance.
Beshear also said he was submitting a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for additional medical professionals to help where they are needed most.
Kentucky would receive eight teams of eight registered nurses and two certified practical nurses if the request is successful. Teams would travel to Kentucky hospitals facing staff and resource shortages. The request would also include two certified “strike teams” from emergency management services to transport patients if they need care and the hospital they are requesting is full or under-resourced.
As he does more and more in recent weeks, Beshear handed part of his briefing to frontline doctors and nurses to discuss the virus-related difficulties in their hospitals.
Steve Haines, director of intensive care nursing at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville, said the latest increase was “pretty horrible.”
Previous escalations of the virus have happened gradually, he said, but this time “it was like the door opened” and the virus “just kicked it in. We were immediately overwhelmed.” .
In a video, Haines spoke of patients with the virus being scared and struggling to breathe.
“We put all of their families on FaceTime,” he said. “Maybe we let them have their last conversation with a family member and put them on a ventilator. It’s horrible.”
The small hospital mortuary was overwhelmed by the wave of viruses, he said. When a patient dies, “housekeeping comes in, cleans the room and we put someone else in,” Haines said.
In an encouraging sign, nearly 32,000 Kentuckians have been vaccinated against COVID-19 since Saturday, the governor said. Overall, 56% of the state’s population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
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Follow more information on AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.
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