37 reported dead today from covid-19, the state's deadliest day yet; Beshear notes White House report commends his actions

Kentucky Health News graph; for a larger version, click on it.

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

This week's White House pandemic report praised Gov. Andy Beshear's latest orders to thwart the coronavirus, and said they will work "if compliance is high." If there was ever a time for that, it would be now, Beshear said after reporting the state's deadliest day from covid-19 and a rapidly rising positive-test rate.  

"The time we really need to be coming together and doing the right things is right now because the ramifications if we don't are the most severe of any time in the virus," Beshear said. adding later, "Now is the time where action is necessary; inaction is deadly."

At his Wednesday briefing, Beshear announced a record 37 additional deaths related to covid-19, bringing the state's death toll to 1,980. The previous high was 35, reported Tuesday. Six of the deaths were people under 60, he said. 

The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past seven days is going up at an alarming rate. On Wednesday it hit 9.62%, the highest it's been since May when the state started testing more broadly. 

That shows "it's not more testing" that is driving case numbers, Beshear said. "It's more people who are getting the virus and more people who are spreading the virus."

He announced 3,601 new cases of the virus Wednesday, the state's sixth highest single day for cases. He said 1,768 people were in the hospital with covid-19; 427 of them in intensive care and 234 of those on ventilators. 

This week's White House Coronavirus Task Force report came with dire warnings, but it also came with praise for Beshear's Nov. 18 orders to slow the latest surge of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. 

"New orders put in place by the governor should result in rapid decrease in transmission if compliance is high," the report said. 

The orders include a ban on in-person schooling and indoor service in bars and restaurants, and tighter numerical limits on certain gatherings. All are controversial and several have been challenged in court.

The Democratic governor and his health commissioner both stressed that the Republican-led White House approves their rules. Beshear said the nation's foremost experts say Kentucky has "a winning game plan." 

"Sometimes we feel like this virus is being politicized and the steps that we take are being politicized," said Beshear. "Well, this is Donald Trump's White House, so if there are those in the state and different parties that disagree with me, they're disagreeing with Donald Trump's White House. 

"And if Donald Trump's White House agrees that . . . the plans that were put into place will work, that means that the public-health experts all know that this thing will work, if again, we all do our part."  

Health Commissioner Steven Stack, a physician, said he and Beshear review a "whole swath of information" in order to make the "best informed decisions we can, based on experts and good judgment." 

Stack said they and the Trump administration are "not agreeing on every single point, but agreeing on the vast majority of points. And so you're getting fairly similar guidance on most of the big topics from two very different administrations."

White House warnings: Stack added that this White House report used some of the "darkest language" it has used since it started issuing them.

"The covid risk to all Americans is at a historic high," the report said. "We are in a very dangerous place due to the current, extremely high covid baseline and limited hospital capacity; a further post-Thanksgiving surge will compromise covid patient care, as well as medical care overall."

The report called on officials to alert the public: "It must be made clear that if you are over 65 or have significant health conditions, you should not enter any indoor public spaces where anyone is unmasked due to the immediate risk to your health; you should have groceries and medications delivered."

Further, "If you are under 40, you need to assume you became infected during the Thanksgiving period if you gathered beyond your immediate household. Most likely, you will not have symptoms; however, you are dangerous to others and you must isolate away from anyone at increased risk for severe disease and get tested immediately.

"If you are over 65 or have significant medical conditions and you gathered outside of your immediate household, you are at a significant risk for serious covid infection; if you develop any symptoms, you must be tested immediately as the majority of therapeutics work best early in infection. . . . All states and all counties must flatten the curve now in order to sustain the health system for both covid and non-covid emergencies." 

Many of Kentucky's hospitals are already being stretched thin, said Beshear, including King's Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, which is using one of its lobbies as an overflow area for the emergency department due to "near record patient volume," a hospital spokesman told WYMT.

White House Coronavirus Task Force graph, labeled by Ky. Health News; for a larger image, click it.

The White House report again has Kentucky in the most dangerous zone for number of cases and the share of people who tested positive Nov. 21-27, ranking 23rd highest for cases and 16th highest for positive-test rate.

It says 68% of the state's 120 counties have high levels of community transmission and 96% have moderate or high levels. The number of counties in the White House red zone decreased by three from the previous week, to 81; the orange zone rose by six, to 19; and the yellow zone increased by one, to 15. 

The report says Kentucky had 437 new cases per 100,000 people, about the same as the last report, when that number was 433 per 100,000. The national average is 349 per 100,000.

Health experts have cautioned that reports that cover the Thanksgiving holiday could understate the status of the pandemic because there was less testing,

Stack noted research predicting that good compliance restrictions could prevent hundreds of covid-19 hospitalizations. The University of Louisville research, done first in the Louisville region, has been extended to the Bowling Green and Owensboro regions.

Michael Rodriguez

Beshear honored the life of Michael Rodriguez, who was a nurse at Norton Audubon Hospital in Louisville for 26 years. Rodriguez died at 67 from covid-19 on Nov. 20. He is survived by a brother, sister, a fiancé, and three nephews. 

Beshear said, “The director of Norton Audubon Hospital, Randy Hamilton, said he’d never seen anything like the hospital after Michael’s passing – he had made such a positive impact on everyone. From those who cleaned the hospital, to the nurses, doctors and patients – everyone was devastated by this loss. Today we mask up in honor of Michael, his family, and his incredible team members at Norton Audubon who are mourning this devastating loss, but still showing up each day to care for our people.”

In other covid-19 news Wednesday: 

• Today's deaths were an Allen County man, 61; a woman, 80, and men 49 and 94 from Boone County; a Campbell County man, 82; a woman, 90, and four men, 48, 61, 62 and 93, from Daviess County; a woman, 86, and men 74 and 86 from Fayette County; a Floyd County woman, 62; Franklin County women 71 and 90; a Graves County man, 84; a Grayson County woman, 70; a Hardin County man, 58; a Henderson County woman, 46; a Hopkins County man, 88; a man, 87, and women 83 and 96 from Jefferson County; Jessamine County men 67, 74 and 90; two women, 81 and 82, and a man, 85, from Kenton County; two McLean County women, 61; a Monroe County woman, 95; a Montgomery County woman, 59; an Ohio County man, 85; a Trigg County man, 82; and a Warren County man, 46.
• Counties with 10 or more new cases were Jefferson, 686; Fayette, 219; Boone, 145; Hardin, 138; Kenton, 118; Warren, 103; Madison, 96; Daviess, 91; Laurel, 76; Bullitt, 71; Campbell, 69; Marion, 67; Clay, 56; McCracken, 55; Oldham, 50; Nelson, 49; Boyd, 48; Boyle, Christian and Pike, 46; Scott, 45; Jessamine, 41; Henderson, 40; Franklin and Whitley, 37; Perry, 36; Hart and Hopkins, 35; Lincoln, 34; Greenup, 33; Pulaski, 32; Barren, 30; Taylor, 29; Graves and Rowan, 28; Calloway and Grant, 27; Clark, Montgomery and Shelby, 24; Gallatin, 22; Washington, 21; Anderson and Magoffin, 20; Simpson, 19; Floyd and Woodford, 17; Knox, Lawrence and Rockcastle, 16; Bell, Bourbon and Johnson, 15; Adair, Edmonson, Logan, Marshall, Pendleton and Todd, 14; Carter, Garrard, Leslie, Ohio and Webster, 13; Harlan and Lewis, 12; Monroe, 11; and Bath, Clinton, Grayson, Russell and Union, 10.
• In long-term care, the state reported 2,145 active cases among residents and 1,143 among staff, with 141 new resident cases and 87 new staff cases. There have been 1,274 resident deaths and seven staff deaths, with 16 resident deaths confirmed today.
• Beshear said 379 of the new cases were Kentuckians 18 and under. 
• J. Michael Brown, Beshear's cabinet secretary, said 2,706 inmates and 425 corrections staff have had the virus, and that 310 inmates and 82 staff are still active cases. He said 19 inmates have died of covid-19, including two confirmed today, and two staff members. 
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says a two-week coronavirus quarantine can be shortened to 10 days, or even seven. While the CDC continues to recommend a 14-day quarantine for people exposed to the virus, it is now offering two other "acceptable alternatives" as a way to increase compliance, especially among the working public. 
• The first option would end the quarantine 10 days after exposure for those who have no symptoms and have not been tested. "CDC officials said research shows there’s anywhere between a 1% to 12% “residual risk” that someone remains infected after a 10-day quarantine period has ended, “an acceptable risk for many," reports Katie Camero of McClatchy Newspapers.
• The second option would end the quarantine after seven days, but only if that person tested negative and had no symptoms. "This alternative . . . carries a 5% to 10% risk that the person is still positive after a 7-day quarantine period," Camero writes.
• Asked about the recommendations, Beshear said state officials are reviewing them and he hopes to have a decision by Thursday on whether the state will change its quarantine guidance. 
• The CDC also issued new holiday travel guidance that urges Americans to stay home, and to get tested one to three days before their trip—and to not travel if the result is positive—and again three to five days after if they do travel. In addition, they recommend reducing non-essential activities for a full week after travel or for 10 days if not tested. The guidance cautions that "testing does not eliminate all risk, but it can help make travel safer." And for 14 days after travel, social distance, wear a mask, practice good hand hygiene, avoid being around people who are at increased risk of severe illness and monitor for any symptoms of the virus. 
• Brewed, a Lexington coffee shop that defied Beshear's ban on indoor service, was ordered to close by a circuit judge Tuesday, Jeremy Chisenhall reports for the Herald-Leader. Beshear said the coffee shop since ceased operations. 
• Billy Kobin of the Louisville Courier Journal explores several perspectives about re-opening schools to in-person learning, noting that the issue is far from settled. For now, Beshear's executive order has shut down elementary schools to in-person learning until Dec. 7, and then only if they are in a county with lower community spread, and the upper grades are closed to in-person learning until Jan. 4. 
• The Kentucky Blood Center is searching for people who have recovered from covid-19 to donate plasma, WDRB reports. 
• WKYT offers a report that shows where coronavirus cases increased the most in November, noting that the number of cases more than doubled in 25 of the state's 120 counties. 
• USA Today answers questions about coronavirus vaccines, and offers an online form for you to ask anything they haven't addressed.
• A vaccine may still be months away for children, NPR reports.
• The World Health Organization has tightened its mask guidelines, telling people who live in areas with high community spread to wear their mask at all times in stores, workplaces and schools with low ventilation -- and when you can't physically distance by at least three feet in enclosed areas, even at home. It adds that health care workers should wear N95 masks when caring for covid-19 patients, The Hill reports.
• Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, told ABC News that Kentucky not only faces logistical challenges to distribute coronavirus vaccines, but also challenges around trust, which makes it even more important to make sure trusted sources are chosen to be the messengers for immunization.

Here's the White House task force national map; for a larger one, click on it.