(Editor’s Note: The following is a roundup of Kentucky news about the coronavirus compiled for Thursday, April 2, by Kentucky Health News.)
- Gov. Andy Beshear told local school superintendents in a conference call today that he wants to extend the closure of schools another two weeks, to May 1, news outlets reported.
- Beshear announced a new executive order that says anyone traveling into Kentucky from out of state to stay must quarantine for 14 days at their destination.
- He also said that starting April 3 there can be no overnight stays at state park campgrounds or lodges.
- Beshear reported 11 new deaths in the state from COVID-19, spanning from March 31 through today. He said it appears that all but one individual had other health conditions, though he said they are still looking into the details of that one person. He said more information wasn’t shared about the victims because of HIPPA rules.
- He said while there have been four positive cases reported at Western State Psychiatric Hospital, the state has only been able to confirm three of them so far.
- Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said the metro health department had received more than 1,100 complaints about non-compliant businesses, mostly non-essential firms that should not be operating. Seven have been ordered to close.
- Hospital systems say their main worry is that the coronavirus will keep their employees off the front lines as the surge of patients increases. “Our biggest concern right now … is keeping staff healthy and keeping them in the game,” Dr. Jody Prather, chief strategy and marketing officer for Baptist Health, said on Fischer’s daily chat. “We can always find the space and locations but we only have a certain number of health-care professionals.”
- Dr. Steven Hester, chief medical officer ofNorton Healthcare, said in the chat, “The biggest thing I think you can do for the caregivers is follow the recommendations of state and local governments.” He said a big challenge with the virus is “a lot of asymptomatic spread” by people who have the virus but don’t know it because they have no symptoms. At least a fourth of infected people are asymptomatic.
- Noting data showing that the virus can last on a surface for six to seven days and in the air for three hours, Hester said, “We’ve got to get folks compliant with staying at home. … If everyone follows self-isolation it’s our greatest chance.”
- James Hohmann of The Washington Post writes in his “Daily 202” roundup, “As Americans turn inward and the U.S. government becomes preoccupied by domestic considerations, the world remains a tinderbox. This pandemic could turn out to be a match that lights a brushfire, fueling strife within other countries and raising the probability of wars. There are blinking red lights that the world is on the verge of becoming a more dangerous place.” He gives many examples.
- Beshear continues to encourage Kentuckians to practice social distancing and to avoid crowds and gatherings of any size. “There are not ways to get exceptions around this,” he said at his daily press briefing. “If you are outside exercising (and) 10 people get together six feet apart — that is not OK. We can’t be doing that. We’ve got to make sure that we are avoiding crowds and gatherings entirely.”
- He also announced an executive order that allows state, county and city governments to hire back retirees if needed.
- Beshear said the state is moving ahead with plans for a 2,000-bed field hospital at the Louisville Fair Grounds to make sure Kentucky is ready when the surge comes. He said the National Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers will help with this. “And if we don’t need it, hallelujah!” he said.
- He said that no field hospitals were being planned in Lexington at this time. Instead they were working on a hotel to use for this purpose if needed and said further plans would be released in the next 24 hours about this.
- Michael Brown, secretary of the executive cabinet, went over the criteria for releasing some of the state’s nonviolent and non-sex related Class C and Class D prisoners. He said today’s executive order will result in the commutation of sentences for 186 individuals, all of whom have been screened and are shown to be more vulnerable to getting the virus. He added that they have pre-identified 743 inmates that are within six months of completion of their sentence that could be released next week after a final screening of the requirements.
- Beshear called on Kentuckians to donate gloves if they have them. He said the National Guard is coordinating this collection and to call 502-607-6844 if you have some to donate.
- Beshear explained that the state must sometimes correct the number of new cases because there are a lot of contributors to the final numbers. He pledged transparency in the process and said that would mean sometimes the numbers would change from day to day. That said, he reported 100 new cases today, bringing the state’s total to 770.
