Ten days after the state's first case of COVID-19 was confirmed on March 6, the governor ordered the initial round of business closures. By the end of the year, 57 virus-related deaths had been confirmed in Christian County.
Local "non-hospital" health care agencies — as well as emergency responders that provide medical care — that haven't signed up to receive the vaccine can do so on the health department's website.
For the week of Dec. 18 through 24, the hospital reached record highs for the total number of inpatient beds occupied by coronavirus patients and its overall proportion of COVID-19 patients.
Three of the last four weeks of data show that Jennie Stuart's ratio of COVID-19 patients to total beds was at or above the 20% threshold that puts a hospital under “extreme stress.” For the most recent week available, the ratio of 16%.
On Saturday, carry-out customers dined on boxed meals inside The Village Restaurant's parking lot tent at Canton Street and Navajo Trail. Two sides of the tent were still open only partially — the main point of dispute between the owners and health officials.
The letter, which is signed by Jennie Stuart CEO Eric Lee, Medical Staff President Michael Murray and Medical Group Vice President Keith Toms, pleads with the public to take extra measures to be diligent in the fight against coronavirus in order to avoid a "situation where hospitals are full."
