(Editor’s Note: The following is a roundup of Kentucky news about the coronavirus compiled for Monday, March 30, by Kentucky Health News.)
- The state reported 42 new covid-19 cases and two more deaths: an 88-year-old woman from Kenton County, whom Beshear called a “presumptive positive” for the virus, and a 90-year-old woman from Simpson County. Beshear said both had underlying health conditions. To date, Kentucky has at least 480 cases and 11 deaths from covid-19.
- Two people in a Campbell County nursing home tested positive: a resident, who is now in a hospital, and an employee. Beshear said four others in the facility are being tested.
- Beshear estimated the total number of people tested in Kentucky is between 15,000 and 21,000. He added that the state is still working on getting better information about testing, such as reports of negative results from labs. The false-negative rate has been as high as 40 percent.
- The governor said it would be another week or so before Kentucky decides if schools would be closed beyond April 20.
- The state Cabinet for Health and Family Services told assisted-living facilities on March 26, “All congregate activities shall stop effective immediately and transition to virtual settings as available.” One solution: hallway bingo, with residents sitting in their doorways.
- At a tele-townhall conference hosted by the cabinet and AARP Kentucky, Beshear stressed the dangers of the coronavirus to those over age 60 and to those with underlying health conditions. He said that’s what prompted him to end in-person visitation in nursing homes and assisted-living facilties and to close down senior centers. “Once the coronavirus starts spreading through one of those facilities, it spreads very quickly and can cause a lot of harm,” he said. He also stressed the importance of seniors to social distance from their grandchildren, who can be carriers of the disease without having any symptoms.
- Acting Health Secretary Eric Friedlander encouraged seniors in the tele-townhall to call the Aging and Disability Resource Center at 877-925-0037 to learn about local and state senior resources, like meals-on-wheels.
- Attorney General Daniel Cameron said during the event that there have been more than 1,400 reports of suspected price gouging across the state. He encouraged calls to the price-gouging hotline, 888-432-9257 or online complaints at ag.ky.gov/pricegouging. He urged seniors to be wary of fraud and scams, urging caution about sale of fake products to cure or prevent covid-19; nonprofits asking for personal information or donations; calls supposedly from Medicaid asking for any personal information; or anyone asking for your Social Security number.
- Beshear said Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital in Russell, next to Ashland, will remain open as the surge of covid-19 patients continues. It is scheduled to close by April 30. Beshear said hospitals are expected to be at full capacity in three to four weeks and that Kentucky will need this hospital. He added that the state is working on ways to help rural hospitals, but the plan is not yet complete.
- He said 632 students have volunteered to help with health care as needed: 342 medical students, 210 nursing students, 43 pharmacy students and 53 others.
- Because coronavirus can enter through the eyes, the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends switching to glasses if you wear contact lenses, especially if you tend to touch your eyes a lot when they are in. “Substituting glasses for lenses can decrease irritation and force you to pause before touching your eye,” Dr. Sonal Tuli, the spokesperson for the academy, advises. Click here for hygiene tips for contact users.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s first snapshot of covid-19 cases found 29% of infections were in people aged 20-44; that underlying health issues can increase the increase of infection and the severity of the disease; and that men seem more susceptible than women to covid-19. “The idea that this is purely a disease that causes death to older people we need to be very, very careful with,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization’s emergencies chief, warning that as much as 10 to 15 percent of people under 50 have moderate to severe infection and many middle-aged people spend weeks in the hospital, AP reports.
- Louisville-based Humana Inc. announced it is waiving medical costs related to treatment of covid-19, as well as FDA-approved medications as they become available for enrollees of Medicare Advantage plans, fully insured commercial members, Medicare supplement policyholders and Medicaid. The Louisville Courier Journal reports that Cigna, another health-insurance firm, is also waiving customer co-sharing and co-payments for covid-19 treatment.
- Norton Healthcare in Louisville reported that 45 of its employees tested positive for the coronavirus across its five-hospital system, which is now working under a “universal mask protocol” starting today, Lucas Aulbach reports for the Courier Journal.
- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has created a Coronavirus Response Portal on his website to help Kentuckians take advantage of the provisions in the recently enacted bill to provide economic and other relief. The portal addresses unemployment insurance, low-interest federal loans, federal taxes and relief checks, federal grants, and assistance for Kentuckians traveling or living abroad.
- Scott Satterfield, the University of Louisville’s football coach, has made a public-service video to encourage Kentuckians to sign up for unemployment benefits if they qualify and to contribute to the Team Kentucky Fund to help those whose employment is affected by the coronavirus. He also encouraged Kentuckians to practice good hygiene and social distancing, and stay home.
- Secretary of State Michael Adams said on KET’s “Kentucky Tonight” that he has asked the legislature for authority to hold no-excuse absentee voting in the June 23 primary, which he and Beshear have moved from May 19. He said five weeks was the longest the vote could be delayed under state law.
