Despite most new cases yet, and fuller hospitals, Beshear says pandemic trend remains better as he completes a year in office

Ky. Health News graph, based on unadjusted initial daily reports; to enlarge, click on it.

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

On the first anniversary of his governorship, which has largely been consumed by the pandemic, Gov. Andy Beshear was reflective, combative and informative.

Beshear spent part of his Thursday briefing reflecting on his first year, saying the coronavirus has caused him some difficult days, just as it has for all Kentucky families. He also refuted Republican assertions that most Kentuckians aren't happy with how he's handled the pandemic, and essentially announced his plans to seek re-election in 2023.

"Regardless of the noise, I know there's a lot of support out there and I'm going to continue to do my very best for you," Beshear said in closing remarks. "Tough times require tough decisions and create tough people, and we as Kentuckians are a tough people. I'm honored to be your governor for this last year and looking forward to the next three to seven." 

Beshear announced the most new coronavirus cases for one day, 4,324. He said that is concerning, but said signs continue that the rate of growth is slowing. Even with that raft of cases, the seven-day average of daily new cases is 3,291, 5% below the high of 3,440 recorded five days ago. 

Also, the percentage of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past week dropped for the seventh day in a row, to 9.13%. Health Commissioner Steven Stack called that a "leading indicator" of future numbers. Deaths are a lagging indicator; Beshear confirmed 28 more of those.  

Beshear again attributed the encouraging trends to the restrictions he imposed about three weeks ago. Most of them, including a ban on indoor food service, are slated to end Sunday night. Asked why he doesn't continue them if they are working, he said they were intended to "shock the system."

Beshear said he will say Monday or Tuesday how schools, even in the state's most dangerous category of infection, can resume in-person classes Jan. 4. Thursday, Menifee County was the only county not in the "red zone." 

Beshear said the record case number may reflect a surge that was expected from increased social gathering and travel that occurred at Thanksgiving, but "it's a lot less that what we are seeing in some other states."

Thanksgiving is likely the cause for the record 451 cases reported locally by Lexington health officials Thursday, they told the Lexington Herald-Leader. About 50 are inmates at Blackburn Correctional Complex or the Federal Medical Center, health department spokesman Kevin Hall said.  

Beshear reported 1,756 people hospitalized in Kentucky due to the coronavirus, 442 of them in intensive care, beating by one the record set Dec. 1, with 231 of those on ventilators. 

Hospital capacity: Hospitals and their intensive-care units continue to fill up. Stack gave an update on ICU capacity in the 10 hospital-preparedness regions, noting those above the worrisome 80%: Lake Cumberland, 97.8% full; Barren River, 92%; Northern Kentucky, over 81%; and the easternmost region, 90%.  

"This is important," said Stack, a emergency-room physician and former American Medical Association president. "When you go over 85% full, you have to start making difficult choices . . . including having to postpone or defer surgeries or procedures for patients who would have to stay in the hospital." 

Asked if hospitals can't simply transfer patients from one hospital to another that may have capacity if the need arises, Stack cautioned that Kentuckians should not depend on this as a solution. 

"This is not a normal world," he said. "What you have is a massive pandemic that is straining hospitals all over the place. So people should not take solace that if we act irresponsibly and allow this disease to spread rapidly, that there's going to be a place to go. . . . And it's not reasonable to hope for relief just in the neighboring hospital who itself may also be strapped." 

Politics: Beshear was asked about Wednesday's press conference in which Republicans who control the state Senate laid out their priorities for the next legislative session, including two bills to rein in the governor's emergency powers. He focused on Floor Leader Damon Thayer's assertion that the election of huge GOP majorities last month was a message to do that.

"I think what I heard was Senator Thayer saying that this last election wasn't about the president, or the presidential election, it was all about me, and voters want Republicans to fully be in charge of the state, so they're going to take the powers away from the Democratic governor."

Beshear noted an October Spectrum News poll and a New York Times election exit poll, which found that 66% and 63% of voters, respectively, approved of the way he has handled the pandemic.

"In an electorate that voted significantly Republican, they approve," and by unusual margins, Beshear said. Thayer's assertion was "not based in fact," he said, and the polls are "actual data from voters, and or an independent poll." 

Then he doubled down, saying, "What I heard I think is un-American," because of the warning George Washington gave in his farewell address, which Beshear paraphrased as "Beware of political parties, because there will reach a point where people care more about the power of their party than the basic foundations of our government."

Beshear added, "We shouldn’t be doing things differently because one branch is controlled by one party and the other is controlled by another. . . . I’ve been honored to be your governor for this last year and looking forward to the next three to seven."

Deaths: The 28 additional deaths brought the state's Covid-19 toll to 2,146. The seven-day average is 18.9, down for the fifth consecutive day from the high of 25.3 recorded five days go. The 14-day rolling average is 19.3, down for the second day from a high of 20.9 recorded five days ago. 

Rev. Gregory Smith

Beshear honored the life of Rev. Gregory Smith, whom he called "a beloved pastor of Louisville" who led the Hill Street Baptist Church for nearly 40 years. Beshear said Smith died one day after turning 69 and is survived by his wife of 34 years, his three children and "his beloved grandchildren." Beshear said his daughter Caitlin told him, "He was a man of faith, and lived through his faith each and every day" to help anyone who needed him. 

"To his family, to his flock, we are so sorry. We mourn the loss of an amazing individual and we mourn for you and how that loss is going to impact you," said Beshear. "For you, we promise to do better, to make sure we don't lose other individuals like Reverend Smith . . . And knowing that your dad, loving his neighbor, would want us to work as hard as we can to protect other people out there." 

In other coronavirus news Thursday: 

• Today's deaths include two Adair County men, 61 and 72; a Barren County woman, 63; a Boyd County woman, 61; a Casey County man, 71; a Christian County woman, 94; a Clinton County woman, 83; a Cumberland County woman, 92; a Fayette County woman, 95; a Fleming County man, 78; a Henderson County man, 93; two Hopkins County women, 70 and 96; a 91-year-old woman and four men, 69, 70, 72 and 88, from Jefferson County; a Martin County man, 75; a McCracken County man, 96; a Montgomery County woman, 92; a woman, 97, and a man, 99, from Oldham County; an Owsley County man, 59; two Russell County men, 81 and 88; an Taylor County woman, 85; and a Wayne County man, 74.
• Counties with more than 10 new cases were Jefferson, 659; Fayette, 368; Pulaski, 135; Kenton, 132; Boyd, 119; Boone, 115; Warren, 106; McCracken, 100; Hardin, 93; Daviess, 82; Madison, 78; Campbell, 65; Taylor, 64; Russell, 61; Bullitt, Shelby and Whitley, 56; Pike, 53; Perry, 52; Christian, 51; Lincoln, 47; Jessamine, 46; Franklin, 45; Scott, 43; Calloway, 42; Adair and Wayne, 40; Boyle and Harlan, 38; Greenup, 37; Graves, Knox, Marshall, McCreary, Ohio and Oldham, 36; Gallatin, Henderson and Laurel, 33; Carter and Spencer, 32; Nelson, 31; Cumberland, 29; Barren and Mercer, 28; Casey, Hart and Rockcastle, 27; Floyd and Woodford, 26; Muhlenberg, 24; Hopkins and Montgomery, 23; Clinton and Fleming, 22; Johnson and Pendleton, 21; Bell, Elliott and Simpson, 20; Marion, 19; Rowan and Trimble, 18; Allen, Clark, Clay and Green, 17 each; Bourbon, Henry, Lawrence, Logan and Washington, 15; Garrard, Grant and Letcher, 14; Butler, Carlisle, Crittenden, Larue, Livingston, Magoffin, Metcalfe and Union, 13; Knott, Meade and Monroe, 12; and Carroll and Powell, 11.
• In long-term care, there are 2,633 active cases among residents and 1,294 among staff, with 239 resident cases and 130 staff cases reported Thursday. There have been 1,462 resident deaths from Covid-19 and seven staff deaths attributed to the disease.
• An independent committee advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 17-4 to say that the benefits of the Pfizer Inc. coronavirus vaccine outweigh the risks, setting the stage for emergency use authorization by the FDA. Beshear said distribution of the vaccine will begin as early as Tuesday, in long-term-care facilities and some workers in 11 previously identified hospitals.
• The weekly national flu vaccination report through Nov. 28 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that 188 million doses of flu vaccine have been distributed in the U.S., the highest ever for a single influenza season. At this same point in last year's flu season, about 169 million doses had been distributed. Health experts have increased the push for Kentuckians to get a flu vaccine this year, out of concern that a simultaneous covid-19 and flu outbreak could overwhelm the state's hospitals. 
• WalletHub compared more than 90 large cities across 13 key metrics and named Louisville as one of the cities that need the most initial vaccinations, the Herald-Leader reports.