FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky has restarted preparations to expand hospital capacity as it struggles to overcome another surge in the coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday.
Referring to the daily numbers as “grim,” the governor reported 1,312 new COVID-19 cases statewide - the fourth-highest one-day total since the pandemic began and by far the highest number on any Tuesday. The state also reported 16 more virus-related deaths.
With hospitalizations rising and more virus patients in intensive care, the Bluegrass State is again making “surge preparations,” as it did during the early days of the pandemic, he said.
“We are now going back to our plans about capacity in hospitals, looking - if we have to - at hotel options and the use of state parks,” the Democratic governor said during a briefing. “Ensuring that we have the operational plans to stand up the field hospital, if necessary.”
Hotels or state parks could potentially be used to house people who need to quarantine or isolate.
Beshear said he was “pleading” with Kentuckians to wear masks in public and follow other health guidelines, saying “other people’s lives, our economy and the education of our kids depend on it.”
“If we can’t get everybody’s buy-in, if we can’t get more people doing the right thing each and every day, my concern is that we are going to experience a real surge that we must avoid,” he said. “But if we’re going to face it, I want you to know that we are spending our time getting prepared.”
The governor reported that 776 people are hospitalized in Kentucky because of the virus, while 202 are in intensive care and 96 are on ventilators.
The total number of reported COVID-19 cases surpassed 89,500 statewide, and Kentucky’s virus-related death toll reached at least 1,342, the state said.
Beshear has promised stricter enforcement of his statewide mask mandate to try to contain the virus’s spread, but he again urged people Tuesday to take the initiative themselves, saying it’s a testament to “living by our values and by our faith - loving our neighbor as ourselves.”
“We’ve shown here in Kentucky we can stop (the surge),” he said. “We’ve stopped at least two before. We can stop this one.”
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal. The vast majority of people recover.
Beshear continued giving his coronavirus briefings remotely while in quarantine with his family at the governor’s mansion. Beshear’s wife, Britainy, and their two children also are in quarantine.
They were potentially exposed earlier this month by a member of the governor’s security detail who later tested positive for COVID-19. The governor’s family tested negative again on Tuesday but they have at least several more days in quarantine before they are cleared by state health officials, he said.
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