A day after announcing more than 3,500 new cases of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced on Thursday a “Health Care Heroes Appreciation Week” — set to run August 22-28.
The declaration comes in the shadow of full, or near-full, intensive care units across the state, and an inundated medical work force for what’s been a second wave of woefully sick patients.
With elective surgeries tossed to the wayside during a pandemic resurgence, Beshear said now is the time to rally behind hospitals and private care facilities — who continue to navigate worry through weariness.
As of August 18, 1,658 Kentuckians were lodged in hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms and monitoring, 466 were in ICU, and 229 were on ventilators.
The oversaturation of coronavirus in hospitals has created concern for other emergencies, as heart attacks, vehicular accidents, criminal mischief and other unplanned medical events typically also require ICU attention.
Vaccinations continues to see a slight uptick in the last 24 hours, Beshear added, with more than 6,900 Kentuckians jabbed in the last 24 hours.
COVID-19 positivity rates on August 18 sat at an average 12.59% across the state, and from March 1 (when the vaccines were first made widely available) to August 18, more than 85 percent of new COVID-19 cases, more than 90 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations and more than 87 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Kentucky were among the partially-vaccinated or completely unvaccinated individuals.
Furthermore, Beshear continued to iterate the importance of masking in schools, and the effectiveness of masks combined with inoculation.
From March to May 2021, 6 percent of COVID-19 deaths were among Kentuckians younger than 50 years old.
From June to August 2021, 16 percent of COVID-19 deaths were among Kentuckians younger than 50 years old.
