State school board issues mask mandate; hospitals say they're filling up; Beshear says he won't reimpose limits on business

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

The Kentucky Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to approve an emergency regulation for universal masking inside the state's public schools, regardless of vaccination status. 

The vote came just two days after a broader order from Gov. Andy Beshear, who held a long news conference Thursday to hammer home the threat posed by the Delta variant of the coronavirus. During the event, he received word of the action of the board, which he appointed.

"In a unanimous decision, they stood up for the safety of kids," he said. "So that'll mean that there's not just the executive order, but an emergency regulation out there. So, every school system, you need to be following this." 

Beshear's Tuesday order includes child-care centers and public and private pre-school programs. Attorney General Daniel Cameron has challenged this order in court, so the board's action seems to ensure a mandate.

Beshear cautioned that anyone in the school system who is looking for a way around the mandates could be held accountable. He said they would also be ignoring the state health department, local health directors and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and "When someone gets hurt, and they will if you're refusing to do the right thing, good luck. I think you'll be held accountable."

The governor said that while he will do what is necessary to protect Kentuckians, it will not be necessary to impose limits on businesses again because "masking plus vaccinations can keep us safe." 

Kentucky Health News asked Beshear if he had waited too long to issue the school mask mandate, as at least one Republican has suggested, and if he had been reluctant to get back into "pandemic mode." He said he waited to give local leaders the chance to do the right thing, and more than 44 school districts did, along with every university and many of the state's hospitals.

"We certainly did it before most districts went back to school and we we certainly did it after we saw some very concerning results from those that were making it optional, which meant people weren't wearing it," he said.

State Senate Education Committee Chair Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, told KHN that “The timing of this could not have been worse,” because the governor’s order came the day before many if not most schools opened. Wise said he still favors allowing schools to decide, in cooperation with local health departments (which Beshear says all favor his mask mandate),using local metrics.

Beshear said, "Listen, those that are criticizing, none of them talk about how serious the virus is. None of them are talking about how serious the Delta variant is. None of them are talking about hospitalizations and none of them when they get a microphone, are saying please, please, please, please get vaccinated.

"That means they're sowing at least misinformation or confusion, or they're making coverage that's out there. I mean media coverage, which we need to say. please get vaccinated, look what's happening to the hospitals," but instead says "Andy Beshear says this, but Republican leader Y says that. That doesn't  help us, right? That just makes it red or blue. It shouldn't be red or blue; it's life or death." 

Beshear opened the press conference with a dire warning for Kentuckians who are not vaccinated, noting that the coronavirus sis the third leading cause of death in the United States. 

“The Delta variant is the most aggressive, and it looks like it may be the most deadly, form of Covid that we have faced,” he said. “If you are unvaccinated, you are at the greatest risk that you have been since the very start of this pandemic. . . . You need to protect yourself from this.”

He then turned a good bit of the news conference over to leaders from hospitals and a state veterans' nursing home who told about the realities of Covid-19 in their facilities, with the shared message for Kentuckians to get vaccinated.   

“We are seeing the most rapid rise of cases that I have seen since the pandemic started,” said William Melahn, chief medical officer of St. Claire Health Care in Morehead. “We are worn out, but we are not going to give up. If you really want to help us, go get vaccinated.” 

“Many think only the elderly and those with underlying health conditions will experience complications from this virus. Well, that’s just not the case,” said Cindy Lucchese, chief nurse executive for physicians at the University of Louisville. “With the emergence of the Delta variant, we are seeing younger and healthier people become very sick, and this includes pediatric patients. Some are children under 12, who currently cannot be protected by a vaccine.”

Dr. Stacy Caudill, hospitalist and chief medical officer of King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, said 94% of their Covid-19 admissions and 100% of those in intensive care are unvaccinated. She said the average age of Covid-19 patients has dropped from 75 to 55, and deaths are trending likewise. 

Beshear encouraged Kentuckians to get vaccinated as a way to honor health-care workers and to guard against overwhelming the health-care system with patients: "We owed it to our health-care heroes to have defeated this thing by now. We owe it to them to get vaccinated so that they don't have to spend days and nights. . . fighting our plague."

After sharing the story of a resident at Thompson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore who died from Covid-19 last year, in a facility that lost 34 residents to the virus, Caity Grose, nurse executive at the state-run center, said the difference now is that there is a vaccine to prevent such losses. 

“The death and the pain is preventable," she said. "The school closures, the business closures, the nursing home shutdowns, all of it is preventable this time. We’ve been nurses for a long time. This is not political. It’s about humanity. We do not have to needlessly suffer through a round two of this."

Beshear added, "Can we not get vaccinated to prevent this type of loss again?"

Daily numbers: On Thursday, the state reported 2,713 new cases of the coronavirus, with 61, or 23%, of them in people 18 and younger. That raised the seven-day rolling average by 70, to 2,278 per day. Two months ago, it was 271.

The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the last seven days is 11.57%. It has been higher on only 12 other days in the pandemic, in January, when it hit a high of 12.45%.

The state reported six new deaths from the virus, bringing the death toll to 7,414 and the seven-day average to 6.9 per day. Two weeks ago, it was 2.7 per day. 

Kentucky hospitals reported 1,371 Covid-19 patients, 357 of them in intensive care and 169 of those on mechanical ventilation. The number of Covid-19 patients has increased for 29 days in a row.

Two of the state's 10 hospital readiness regions are using at least 80% of their intensive-care-unit beds: Lake Cumberland, at 87%, and the easternmost region, from Lee to Pike counties, 82%. In the westernmost region (Livingston, Lyon and Trigg counties and those to the west), Covid-19 patients has 36% of ICU beds.

The state's new-case rate over the last seven days is 48.39 per 100,000 residents. Counties with double that rate are Clay, 151.5; Union, 112.3; Logan, 107.5; Laurel, 103.8; and Webster, 101.6.

Kentucky's rate is 10th in the nation, but its two-week rate of increase has fallen to 26th in the nation, according to CDC data processed by The New York Times. 

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With almost 3,000 new coronavirus cases, Kentucky's rate of increase is among the fastest in the nation; deaths are up too

State Dept. for Public Health map, relabeled by Ky. Health News; for a larger version, click on it.

By Al Cross

Kentucky Health News

Kentucky reported almost 3,000 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, the most since soon after the height of the pandemic, and hospitalizations and deaths also continued to increase.

The 2,961 new cases raised the seven-day average to 2,208, the highest since Feb. 5 and more than double that of two weeks ago. Kentucky's new-case increase is 10th among the states, according to The New York Times.

Kentucky hospitals reported 1,327 Covid-19 patients, 363 of them in intensive care and 169 of those on mechanical ventilation. All those numbers were about double those of two weeks ago.

The state reported 14 more deaths from Covid-19, raising the pandemic's Kentucky toll to 7,408. In the last week, the state has averaged 6.6 deaths per day; just 12 days ago, the average was 3.1.

"We're having another alarming day," Gov. Andy Beshear said in a Facebook post that mentioned the deaths of two women, ages 31 and 44, in Jefferson and Fayette counties, respectively. He also referred to the controversial mandate he issued Tuesday, for everyone in schools to wear masks.

"This virus is not foolin' around," he said. "We can't sit around and have a two-week debate. We have to act. It is attaching us, and we have to push back. . . . It's time to push the silliness aside; the facts are the facts, the truth is the truth; we are in a battle of life and death. We all need to do the right thing. . . . Wear that mask indoors when you're outside the home, and get vaccinated."

After  two weeks of gradual increase, vaccinations in Kentucky are slacking again. Over the last seven days, the daily average is 9,673, about one-fifth less than the 11,957 seven-day average on Saturday, Aug. 7, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published in The Washington Post.    

The seven-day new-case rate was 46.85 per 100,000 residents; counties with rates more than double that rate were Clay, 128.5; Laurel, 102.9; Webster, 101.6; Union, 101.3; and Logan, 94.9. All but 14 counties have rates above 25 per 100,000, which puts them in red on the state's map of new cases.

The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus rose to 11.22 percent, which Beshear noted is one of the highest recorded. The only higher shares were at the height of the pandemic, Jan. 5-20, with a high of 12.45%. The figure has risen steadily over the last two weeks; if it continues at that rate, it would exceed the previous record in about eight days.

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Sen. Rand Paul is kicked off YouTube for a week for making a false claim that cloth masks are ineffective in fighting Covid-19

U. S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. (Photo from Politico)

YouTube has suspended U.S. Sen. Rand Paul for a week because of a video in which he falsely claimed that masks are ineffective in fighting the coronavirus, a YoutTube spokesperson told CNN. The suspension was announced Tuesday, and came a week after he posted the three-and-a-half-minute video.YouTube indicated to CNN that one example of the offending content in the video was the line: "Most of the masks you get over the counter don't work. They don't prevent infection."

YouTube also "removed a video of an interview the Kentucky Republican senator did on Newsmax," the Washington Examiner reports.

Paul criticized the suspension but called it "a badge of honor" in a tweet on Tuesday: "Leftwing cretins at YouTube banning me for 7 days for a video that quotes 2 peer-reviewed articles saying cloth masks don't work."

Masks do work to slow the spread of the virus by providing a barrier to stop the flow of respiratory droplets, which is how the virus is spread from person to person, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also says it's important to mask correctly, over both the mouth and nose, with no gaps on the side, and the best cloth masks have multiple layers and no valves. 

The CDC has compiled the latest studies to show how masks reduce new coronavirus infections. In April, The New York Times broke down what scientists knew in a detailed article that concludes, "The accumulating research may be imperfect, and it’s still evolving, but the takeaway is simple. Right now, masks are necessary to slow the pandemic" and "Among public health experts, there is near-unanimous endorsement of universal mask mandates to shield people from the virus and slow the pandemic." 

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Cameron challenges Beshear's school masking order; state school board is set to issue its own mask mandate tomorrow

Photo from Salon.com

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

The emergency order Gov. Andy Beshear issued Tuesday to require universal masking in all school districts is already being challenged in court by Attorney General Daniel Cameron,  even as the state school board is scheduled to review --  and likely pass -- an emergency regulation Thursday that would do the same. 

The draft regulation prepared for the Kentucky Board of Education and the Local Superintendents Advisory Council says, "The regulation is necessary to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 in Kentucky public schools and prevent public school closures during the 2021-22 school year due to Covid-19. Specifically, this emergency administrative regulation requires all individuals inside public school facilities to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth, absent an exemption set forth in the regulation." 

The emergency regulation would expire 270 days after filing or if the board withdraws it. It is based on a state law that authorizes the board to issue "regulations necessary or advisable for the protection of the physical welfare and safety of the public school children."

Education Commissioner Jason Glass said in a Tuesday news release, “With strong and consistent precautions in place, Kentucky’s schools have proven that we can safely open for in-person instruction. The governor’s executive order and the Kentucky Board of Education’s pending emergency regulation to require masking both put the health and learning of Kentucky’s children first, and I support them unconditionally.”

The governor's 30-day executive order requires all individuals older than 2 to wear a mask when indoors in all public and private pre-schools, Head Start, and elementary, middle and high schools in Kentucky, regardless of vaccination status. The school board's regulation would apply only to public schools.

Both the governor's order and the board's regulation allow for exemptions.

Beshear had recommended that local school boards impose mask mandates, but fewer than a third did. He said Tuesday that his order was needed to preserve in-person learning and thwart spread of the coronavirus. Only a third of students older than 12 are vaccinated for the virus; younger students are ineligible.

The state school board is appointed by the governor. In one of his first actions as chief executive, Beshear disbanded the board and appointed a new one that promptly fired the commissioner who had been hired by the board that had been appointed by Republican Matt Bevin, whom Beshear defeated.

Cameron, a Republican, argues to the Supreme Court that the Democratic governor's latest order disregards laws the legislature passed this year and violates a Boone Circuit Court injunction that Beshear has appealed to the high court.

“The legitimacy of our government depends on the governor respecting the judicial power of the courts and the law-making power of the legislature, and right now he is disregarding both,” Cameron's filing says.

“The governor does not have to choose between following the science and following the law. The two can and should work together. If he believes that the science requires a statewide mask mandate for schools and childcare centers, then he needs to do what the law requires and work with the General Assembly to put the necessary health precautions in place.”

Several other elected Republicans objected to Beshear's order.

“We fully support today’s action by Attorney General Cameron to uphold the integrity of the law,” Senate President Robert Stivers said in a prepared statement. “The governor represents one branch of our government, and he cannot ignore the laws passed by the legislature and the judicial orders pertaining to them.”

The 2021 General Assembly passed a law that limits emergency orders by governors to 30 days unless extended by the legislature. Beshear's challenge to that law is awaiting a decision by the state Supreme Court. A lower court has temporarily blocked parts of the bills pending the decision.

House Speaker David Osborne issued a statement saying, “Local school districts across the state have carefully considered mandatory face coverings and made decisions regarding their own policies. The governor may not agree with their choices, but he must respect their authority. Instead, at the eleventh hour, he chose to politicize this issue and flout their decisions by issuing an executive order with extremely questionable legal standing.”

Stivers said Beshear had exceeded his legal authority. "If Governor Beshear feels so strongly that action needs to be taken, he can call the General Assembly into a special session." 

Also pending at the Supreme Court is a decision about two other laws, one that gives the legislature more oversight over the administrative regulation process; one that allows businesses and schools to follow federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, instead of those set by the state. 

Osborne pushed the court to decide the matter. "Until the Supreme Court of Kentucky rules on the governor’s challenge to these measures, this issue remains unresolved. It is their unwillingness to act that has left so much in limbo."

Osborne also referenced House Joint Resolution 77, which lists the pandemic orders that would stay in place if the legislature gets the court to overturn a Frankfort judge's injunction.

On the other side of the aisle, leaders of Democrats in the state House issued a statement saying, “If we want our children in school instead of learning online, and if we actually want to follow CDC guidelines as this year’s House Bill 1 calls for, then Gov. Beshear’s statewide mask mandate for students and school staff alike is the only appropriate step to take. The CDC recommends universal masking for everyone in a school setting, regardless of vaccination status." 

On August 5, the CDC issued a guidance recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools regardless of vaccination status.

In a widely shared Twitter message, Science Hill Independent Schools Superintendent Jimmy Dyehouse called Beshear a "liberal lunatic" in an audio message informing parents in the Pulaski County town of Beshear's new mask mandate, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Dyehouse said, “As you already know, and probably have already heard, this liberal lunatic that we have up in Frankfort has signed another executive order mandating masks for all students and adults in school. What this means is the professional opinion of your superintendent doesn’t matter, the opinion of your school board doesn’t matter, and you as parents, your opinion doesn’t matter.”

Beshear's order has the support of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and teachers' unions. The Kentucky Education Association said on Facebook, "Requiring masks for all students is vital to help slow the spread of Covid-19 as schools reopen across the commonwealth. That is particularly true for students under age 12, who are not currently eligible for vaccination and are, therefore, among those most at risk for infection." 

The Kentucky Student Voice Team of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence also issued a statement in support: "While we were hopeful to return to school without masks, rising Covid-19 rates and the spread of the Delta variant have made doing so unsafe. Despite what some have said about the negative effects of wearing a mask in school, public-health experts tell us that masks are the least invasive way to protect students and ensure a return to the type of education experience we know and miss."

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Baptist seminary president's guidance to Christians on vaccines still drawing high readership, eight months after publication

When the first coronavirus vaccine was released in December, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler published an article in Kentucky Today, an online news service of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, giving Christians the green light for vaccination. Almost eight months later, his article is still one of the most-read on the KT website.

Albert Mohler

Mohler begins by comparing development of the vaccines to the moon landing, then offers seven points for Christians to consider as they decide whether to get vaccinated or not.

First, he rejects the line of thinking that if God wants someone to have the virus, they will get it no matter what they do. "That kind of logic, if pressed to its logical conclusion, however, is untenable—we wouldn’t treat any sickness, cancer, or injury," Mohler writes. "Medical treatment is an extension of God’s common grace and Christians have always understood this. That is why, throughout history, where you found Christians, you found hospitals and the church treating the sick."

Then Mohler tackles one of the obstacles most discussed among evangelicals, that a vaccine was developed with tissue from an aborted fetus. "There was a use of fetal cell lines . . . derived from an abortion in the Netherlands in the 1960s," he writes. "How then ought Christians think about all of this? First of all, we must condemn in the strongest of terms the use of any tissues from aborted human babies. That is a nonnegotiable issue for Christians as we consider medical advances and treatments. There are, however, complexities involved as Christians contemplate these incredibly serious moral questions. Specifically, with the issue of the Covid-19 vaccine, Christians need to understand that no step in producing these vaccines had any direct involvement in an abortion of a single child. There is also the issue of proximity. The further you go in history, the harder it is to keep a clear line of culpability in morally significant events. That said, the good news about the Covid-19 vaccines is that even as these cells were used to create the basic shape of the vaccine, no fetal tissue was used."

Mohler continues, "A horrifying wrong was done—but that does not mean that good cannot come from that harm, even as it is a good tainted by the realities of a sinful world. This idea is expressed, for Christians, as the doctrine of double effect. Some actions have more than one effect. For Christians, the primary intention must aim at virtue and good. The intention behind an act must never seek harm or evil or any moral reality and outcome against God’s will. We must never be complicit in intending sin, and certainly this applies to every dimension of abortion. But the Christian also acknowledges a potential double effect, for every moral act can lead to consequences not intended, but unavoidable. If the abortion of even a single human baby was required for this vaccine, or if abortion-derived materials were included in the vaccine, Christians would be rightly outraged. This is not the case. The vaccine can be taken by pro-life Christians with legitimacy."

Mohler then endorses the vaccines' efficacy and safety, says it was appropriate for those at greater risk to have the first access to them, and says it is doubtful that they will be made mandatory; but he objects to any law or regulation that would allow a minor to be vaccinated without parental knowledge.

His other major point addresses what he calls "the common good—the issue of love of neighbor," a theme that Gov. Andy Beshear, an active member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has frequently sounded, though not always in a religious context, to advocate vaccination.

"There are third parties—people who cannot take the vaccine or do not yet have access to it—that could still be infected by those who refuse to take the vaccine," Mohler notes. "The common-good argument is extremely powerful in the Christian tradition. Indeed, it is the second greatest commandment listed by Jesus Christ: to love our neighbors as ourselves. The general principle of the common good comes down to benevolence, love, care for others, laying down personal priorities for the service of others. Christians thinking about the issue of the vaccine must weigh this key biblical principle as part of their thinking."

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Ky. Center for Smoke-Free Policy honors communities, groups and individuals who work to create smoke-free communities

McCracken County Family, Career and Community Leaders of America got the Smoke-free Youth Advocate Award for pushing secondhand-smoke education and smoke-free policy. (Univ. of Ky. photo)

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

The Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy at the University of Kentucky honored communities, groups and individuals from across the state who are making progress in creating healthier, smoke-free communities Aug. 3 at a virtual awards ceremony.

“The actions taken by these remarkable government, health, and youth leaders to protect the public health is truly inspiring,” Ellen Hahn, professor of nursing and KCSP director, said in a news release. “Despite challenges, all sectors of the community are coming together to attack the massive health and economic threat from tobacco use in the commonwealth.”

The event was also hosted by the Kentucky Tobacco Prevention Program, the state Department for Public Health and the UK College of Nursing. 

State Health Commissioner Steven Stack opened the meeting with praise for the advocates who work to promote smoke-free policies across the state, while acknowledging that there is more work to be done.

"You have saved lives and improved health and well-being in the Commonwealth of Kentucky through your efforts and your actions," he said. 

This year's awards include: 

The McCracken County chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America earned the Smoke-free Youth Advocate Award for excellence in promoting secondhand-smoke education and smoke-free policy.

The Lee T. Todd Jr. Smoke-free Hero Award was presented to Anthany Beatty, retired assistant vice president for public safety at UK, for his courage, leadership, perseverance, and continuous commitment to smoke- and tobacco-free environments in the face of adversity.

Felicia Troutman of Owensboro Health, received the Timothy W. Mullett, M.D., Lung Cancer Prevention Award for her leadership, devotion, and passion toward preventing the disease.

The Lifetime Achievement in Tobacco Control Award was presented to Donna Teegarden, retired health promotion manager with the Bracken County Health Department, for her exceptional leadership in tobacco control.

Rebecca Horn of the Green River District
Health Department was named the David B. 
Stevens Smoke-free Advocate of the Year.

Madison County Schools received the Tobacco-free Campus Award for their leadership and collaborative efforts in promoting a healthy campus environment by implementing a 100% tobacco-free campus policy.

Knott County received the Everette Varney Smoke-free Indoor Air Excellence Award for enacting a comprehensive smoke-free workplace ordinance.

Rebecca Horn, public health services manager at the Green River District Health Department, was named the David B. Stevens, M.D., Smoke-free Advocate of the Year for excellence in promoting secondhand smoke education and smoke-free policy. 

Three additional advocates were nominated by their peers for this award: Shirley Roberson Daulton (Lake Cumberland District Health Department), Sherrie Stidham (Kentucky River District Health Department), and Breanna Williams (Northern Kentucky District Health Department).

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Beshear orders all in schools to wear masks, says he's willing to re-institute broader indoor mask mandate 'if necessary'

Governor's Office

By Al Cross

Kentucky Health News

Citing what his health chief called "the fastest and steepest rise of the entire pandemic" Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear issued an emergency order requiring masks for everyone over age 2 in schools, preschools, Head Start centers and child-care centers.

"We are to the point where we cannot allow our kids to go into these buildings unprotected, unvaccinated, and face this Delta variant," Beshear said, because the cases in early-opening schools show that "They will not get in-person learning, we will have massive quarantines, and we'll have parents that can't go to work."

Without a mask mandate, "We would be sending them to the deadliest version of a chicken-pox party imaginable," Beshear said, alluding to experts' belief that the variant is about as contagious as chicken pox, which is highly contagious.

Beshear noted that children under 12 can't be vaccinated yet, and Health Commissioner Steven Stack said only a third of Kentucky kids 12 to 17 have had at least one dose of a vaccine. Some Kentucky school districts have required masks, but at least two-thirds have not.

State Department for Public Health graph

Showing graphs of the recent steep increases in coronavirus cases, Covid-19 hospitalizations, intensive-care cases and mechanical ventilation, Beshear said that at the current rate of increase, without some intervention, the state would exceed previous hospital records within two weeks.

Beshear said some hospitals are already filling up and trying to find places to transfer patients. He has said that the hospital situation would be the key as he considers other measures to fight the virus.

"We won't be afraid, if necessary, to institute a statewide mask mandate for indoors outside the home," he said. He imposed such a mandate from July 2020 to June 2021.  

"There is no dispute, other than the junk and lies that people put on the internet, that masks work," he said.

Frankfort School Supt. Houston Barber said the mask mandate in his independent district "has been highly effective in the first two weeks of classes, with a limited number of cases and "no evidence of spread."

Beshear was asked how confident he is that schools will enforce his mandate. "Well, if they care one lick about their kids, they certainly will," he said. "If they claim to be educators, and every single public-health agency, from the CDC to their local health department has said it's the only way to stay in school, and otherwise you're gonna shut down businesses, they will."

Beshear also cited support from teachers' unions, all directors of district and independent county health departments, and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, whose top two officials appeared at his press conference.

"We have been through this cycle before," said Chamber Chair Winston Griffin, president of Laurel Grocery Co. in London. "It greatly impacts the commerce of this state." He said the ultimate solution is vaccination. "This thing is going the wrong way," he said. "Please get a vaccine."

Vaccinated people can catch the virus and spread it without knowing they have it, and they can develop the Covid-19 disease, but the great majority of cases in vaccinated people are mild. Beshear displayed a graph showing that the rate of new cases among the unvaccinated remains five times higher than among the unvaccinated.

Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and Connecticut have also imposed school mask mandates.

Daily numbers: The state reported 2,500 more coronavirus cases, raising the seven-day average by 100, to 2,154, the highest since Feb. 6. The infection rate is 45.7 per 100,000 residents; counties with rates more than double that rate are Clay, 131.4; Webster, 106; Logan, 100.7; and Union, 94.4.

The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the last seven days is 11 percent, which Beshear said is the highest since Jan. 11, the height of the pandemic.

The governor said the worst figures of the day are from hospitals. Kentucky hospitals reported 1,251 Covid-19 patients, 339 of them in intensive care and 168 of those on mechanical ventilation. Those numbers have at least doubled in the past two weeks.

Noting the concern of a local health director whose intensive-care unit is full, Beshear said, "This is the most concerning thing I've been told since the pandemic began."

The state reported seven more Covid-19 deaths, raising the total to 7,394 and the seven-day average to 6 per day. Less than two weeks ago, the average was 2.7. 

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