Last 3 days are highest in new-case numbers, and positive-test rate stays high; that and legislation spark concern from Beshear

Ky. Health News graph, based on unadjusted initial daily reports from Dept. for Public Health

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

The number of new coronavirus cases in Kentucky Friday was lower than the last two days, but was still the third highest of the pandemic, and the percentage of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus kept rising.

 

Gov. Andy Beshear blamed both trends on holiday gatherings, but said there could be other factors, including a more contagious strain of the virus.

 

“We are now seeing a real and significant increase in cases and our positivity rate from people’s gatherings around the holiday,” Beshear said. “I wish it hadn’t happened. We’ve got to make sure that moving forward we are not gathering in that way, and we’ve got to be real careful with as much virus is out there."

He also warned about fast-moving legislation that would limit his emergency powers to fight the pandemic: "This is our most dangerous time. This is not the time to take away our ability to fight this virus."

Beshear announced 4,750 new cases and an infection rate of 11.9%. On Wednesday, he reported 5,742 new cases of the virus and on Thursday, 4,911. The three-day total is 15,403, with 1,902 of them 18 and under. 

He noted that the weekly White House Coronavirus Task Force report suggested that one or more new variants of the virus, which may be 50% more transmissible, could also be contributing to the spike in numbers, prompting the need for "aggressive mitigation" to match a "more aggressive virus," including uniform implementation of masking and strict social distancing.

“You have to assume if you're indoors with other people that someone has the virus, and you need to be wearing that mask outside your own household," he said. "It’s gotten that significant and these mutated versions appear to be spreading really fast.”

The White House report said, "Kentuckians must understand that if they were around people outside of their households during the holiday season, they must get tested." 

Officials told The Washington Post that all of these public-health measures are even more important because yet another report, using modeling developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that 59% of all cases of the virus are transmitted by people without symptoms. 

"That includes 35 percent of new cases from people who infect others before they show symptoms, and 24 percent that come from people who never develop symptoms at all," the Post reports. 

Kentucky's seven-day rolling average of daily new cases is 3,405, one short of the second highest, which was recorded Dec. 6. The highest, 3,444, was Dec. 5. The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past seven days was the same as yesterday, 11.9%. That is the highest since late April and early May, when testing was becoming more available and likelier to find positives. 

All those numbers suggest that the state may be at the start of its fourth surge.  

"Of course, my hope is we're seeing a bump from Christmas that won't continue to grow," said Beshear, but he then added that these high numbers are "cause for concern that we will be watching closely." 

Vaccines: Walgreens and CVS Health, which have federal contracts to provide the vaccine in long-term care facilities, have provided nearly 24,000 initial doses in 287 long-term care and assisted-living facilities. They have immunized most residents, but still have a ways to go with staff, many of whom Health Cabinet Inspector General Adam Mather described as "vaccine resistant."

CVS has vaccinated 53% of its assigned residents and 47% of assigned staff, and Walgreens has vaccinated 75% and 30%. Mather said the goal is to finish vaccinating in these facilities by Jan. 25. 

Beshear said vaccine distribution has quickened this week, with 107,799 doses distributed, but "We've got to pick up our pace." He and Health Commissioner Steven Stack put forth a speed-up plan Monday, and want providers to administer at least 90% of doses within seven days of getting them. 

Beshear said the state is working on implementing "high through-put vaccination sites" across the state, as was suggested by the White House report. Louisville already has several in motion, although for now they are only providing vaccines to health-care workers.  

Unemployment: Amy Cubbage, Beshear's general counsel, said the state has processed 90% of the nearly 1.5 million unemployment claims that have been filed since the pandemic hit in March. She said about 90,000 have yet to be processed but only 30,000 of them are believed legitimate because the state has been unable to verify the identity of claimants. 

In his budget address Thursday, Beshear said he would provide $1,000 to anyone who filed between March 4 and Oct. 31 and has yet to have their claims resolved and their claim is not considered fraudulent. His news release said upwards of 24,000 Kentuckians are eligible for these payments. 

Cubbage also announced a $400 payment to people who would have qualified for the $400 FEMA supplemental payment in August and September, but didn't have a standard benefit amount high enough to qualify. The news release said this includes those who drew a weekly benefit of $175 or less in November and December, and about 60,000 are eligible. 

Legislation: Beshear said the bills the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly to strip him of some emergency powers would have "significant consequences" and could even cause "harm."

In particular, he spoke about House Bill 1, which will likely pass into law tomorrow. It would allow businesses and schools to stay open during an emergency if they comply with guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Beshear gave several examples of how depending on CDC guidance is a bad idea, saying it often changes daily, was never meant to be considered as law, and is sometimes more stringent than state guidance.

For example, he said the business guidance on the CDC website still references the reopening plan for the United States in May, calling for businesses to close at times of cases are rising, and says businesses must offer paid sick leave for their employees. 

"So this bill not only would would bring in a set of oftentimes conflicting, sometimes vague, but in many times very strict guidance that could be debilitating for things that we can do safely," he said. "But it also prevents us from providing clear advice and having the flexibility we need to address a virus that just mutated."

To the drum-beat complaint from many Republican lawmakers that Beshear hasn't consulted with them on the pandemic, he said "consultation is worked into the process," through administration testimony at 40 committee hearings, consuming more than 30 hours, but none has been invited this week.

"I think it's important to know that while the word consultation is being used, what's really at issue is control," the governor said.

Asked what he's done to get the Republicans to revise the bills, he said there have been "debates" but "We have not been invited to testify on bills that tear powers away from the governor." He also said, "The bills that we're talking about are unconstitutional as well. " He said that if they pass, he will veto them, and if those vetoes are overridden, he will go to court.

In other coronavirus news Friday:

• Beshear reported 13 more deaths attributed to Covid-19, but said there would be more later in the day. His briefing was held at 1 p.m. instead of the usual 4 p.m. ET. The fatalities brought the state's Covid-19 death toll to 2,856.
• The fatalities were a Bath County woman, 91; a Christian County woman, 81; a Fayette County woman, 88; a Grayson County woman, 55, and a man, 78; two Marshall County women, 64 and 90; a Marshall County man, 79; a Mason County woman, 89, and a man, 60; a Mercer County man, 90; a Muhlenberg County man, 93; and a Wayne County woman, 83.
• A major coronavirus outbreak has occurred in Morgan County, site of the state's Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex. Average daily cases in the county have averaged 269 a day for the previous seven days, well above the runners-up of Boyle (193) and Clinton (186), according to The New York Times. Morgan, a county of about 14,000 people, reported 152 new cases Friday.
• Other counties with more than 10 new cases were: Jefferson, 758; Fayette, 302; Oldham, 181; Kenton, 171; Warren, 170; Daviess, 145; Hardin, 145; Boone, 111; Campbell, 94; Laurel, 91; Boyle, 88; Christian, 81; Graves, 73; Madison, 72; Scott, 68; Bullitt, 65; Boyd, 62; Nelson, 62; McCracken, 54; Carroll, 53; Pike, 49; Knox, 48; Jessamine, 46; Marshall, 44; Montgomery, 44; Franklin, 42; Henderson, 42; Floyd, 41; Hopkins, 40; Pulaski, 39; Barren, 38; Harlan, 35; Shelby, 35; Bell, 34; Meade, 33; Whitley, 32; Calloway, Clay and Letcher, 31; Clark, Harrison and Logan, 30; Greenup and Muhlenberg, 28; Webster, 27; Ohio, 26; Mercer, 25; Lincoln, Metcalfe and Perry, 24; Anderson, Bath and Rockcastle, 22; Rowan, 21; Grayson, 20; Garrard and Woodford, 19; Allen, Clinton and Simpson, 18; Wayne, 17; Trimble, 16; Hancock, McCreary, McLean and Powell, 15; Leslie, Marion and Monroe, 14; Breckinridge, Butler, Jackson, Johnson, LaRue, Robertson and Taylor, 13; Spencer, Todd and Trigg, 12; and Bourbon, Breathitt and Carlisle, 11.
• Beshear reported that 1,748 people were hospitalized with Covid-19 on Friday; 393 of them in intensive care and 217 of those on a ventilator.
• In partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kentucky will open a new testing site at the Covington West IRS parking lot between Jan. 11 and Jan. 14. Click here to register for an appointment. 
• Stack said there is a new tab on kycovid19.ky.gov that shows where health care personnel across the state can get vaccinated. At this time, the state has 33 locations.
• The rate of coronavirus cases in prisons in Kentucky is 14th in the nation, according to The Marshall Project, a nonprofit that covers criminal justice.
• Counties where large colleges and universities opened for in-person classes in the fall saw significant increases in the incidence of coronavirus, according to a CDC report. Within three weeks of colleges or universities opening to in-person instruction, counties with large colleges or universities with remote instruction "experienced a 17.9% decrease in incidence" and university counties with in-person instruction "experienced a 56% increase in incidence." And counties without large colleges or universities "experienced a 6% decrease in incidence" during the same time frame.
• A study finds that the loss of smell in mild Covid-19 cases occurs 86% of the time, CNN reports. The study included over 2,500 patients from 18 European hospitals. The sense of smell reappeared after an average of 18 to 21 days, the study found, but about 5% of people had not recovered olfactory function at six months.