FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky was hit by a record number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals and intensive care units as cases are driven by the rapidly spreading delta variant, the governor said Monday Andy Beshear.
More than 20 Kentucky hospitals are facing critical staff shortages and some hospitals are turning the space to treat the influx of patients with ICUs, the governor said.
“Our hospitalizations have doubled almost every two weeks,” Beshear said at a news conference. “And folks, that means we’re getting closer to every single bed in the whole community so the staff is full.”
Beshear presented sparse statistics to show the severity of the increase. The state had 2,596 new cases of COVID-19, a maximum of a pandemic for any Monday in Kentucky, and 17 more deaths related to the virus.
He said more than 1,890 patients with the virus were hospitalized in Kentucky, including 529 in intensive care units. 301 Kentucky virus patients were recorded in ventilators.
The increase comes as the Republican-dominated legislature assumes considerably more control over Kentucky’s response to COVID-19. The state Supreme Court on Saturday paved the way for laws limiting the governor’s emergency powers to come into force.
The Democratic governor acknowledged the change of power on Monday.
“So far I’ve brought football,” making the “difficult and unpopular decisions,” Beshear said. According to the court ruling, these political decisions will now be made by lawmakers, he said.
“I definitely hope they … make the best and sometimes the bravest decisions that are needed,” the governor said.
He raised a controversial issue, saying Kentucky is “getting to the point” that a statewide mask warrant would be needed in response to hospital filling. Beshear’s options include the possibility of convening lawmakers to a special session to address pandemic issues.
“I think we can at least come to an agreement on some basic tools that we are using to combat this,” he said. “And maybe it will take a deeper conversation for others.”
State Senate President Robert Stivers said lawmakers will be prepared if the governor reconvenes them.
“We’ve been formulating things we think would be effective for a long time,” he told reporters. “And if the governor decides to convene an extraordinary session, we will be ready to implement these things. We hope to do this in collaboration with the governor’s office. “
Stivers stressed that “COVID is very real” and that “we need to do everything we can do” to give incentives to people to get vaccinated.
“The best way to deal with it and deal with it is to get as many shots in the arms as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, the governor exercised some of his authority Monday and announced that National Guard personnel will provide logistical and administrative support starting Sept. 1 at some Kentucky hospitals. Bowling Green Medical Center, St. Louis Regional Medical Center Claire in Morehead and Pikeville Medical Center will receive initial care.
Beshear also said he was filing an application with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get more health professionals to help where they are most needed.
Kentucky would receive eight teams consisting of eight registered nurses and two certified nursing assistants if the application is accepted. Teams would travel to Kentucky hospitals with staffing problems and resource scarcity. The application would also include two “strike teams” certified by Emergency Management Services to transport patients if they need care and the hospital where they seek it is full or under-resourced.
As it has done more and more in recent weeks, Beshear handed out part of his briefing to top doctors and nurses to discuss the virus-related difficulties in his hospitals.
Steve Haines, director of nursing for critical care services at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville, said the latest wave has been “pretty horrible.”
He said previous virus outbreaks occurred gradually, but this time “it was as if the door opened” and the virus “just kicked him in. We were immediately overwhelmed.”
In a video, Haines talked about patients with viruses being scared and struggling to breathe.
“We put all of their families on FaceTime,” he said. “We let them have their last conversation with their family member and put them on a fan. It’s horrible. “
The small morgue at the hospital has been overwhelmed by the rising virus, he said. When a patient dies, “cleaning comes in, we clean the room and we put someone else in it,” Haines said.
In a hopeful signal, nearly 32,000 Kentuckians have been vaccinated against COVID-19 since Saturday, the governor said. Overall, 56% of the state’s population has received at least one dose of vaccine.
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Learn more about AP pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic.