As numbers continue downward, Beshear ‘can’t wait’ for rules to go

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – As the state’s coronavirus case numbers continue to show improvement and the number of people vaccinated slowly grows, it’s still too early to make drastic changes in how the state confronts the disease, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday.

But new guidance for schools coming as early as this week could change how they approach in-person classes March 1 and beyond, the governor said, even as parents in some counties took the issue to court.

And Beshear stressed again how he longs for the day when executive orders are a thing of the past.

“I haven’t wanted to do any of the orders…they aren’t popular but they are the right things to do,” Beshear said, making a passing reference to legal action that began Wednesday over the Legislature’s efforts to rein in his powers.

“I can’t wait until we don’t have to have any of them at all, I can’t wait to not have to use emergency powers,” he continued, going through a list of “can’t wait to work on” education, health care, economic development and other issues that were part f the 2019 election.

“We are working with the Kentucky Department f Education on guidelines,” he said, noting students should be able t enjoy” three months of in-person school experience, but “one size doesn’t fit all” and parents will need to to continue to have “real choice” in their options.

Some school districts already have begun returning to in-person learning, even if in small numbers r in hybrid sessions with classes two days a week and virtual classes the other days.

During his daily briefing Wednesday, Beshear announced Kentucky is on track to become the first state to vaccinate educators.

“Our vaccination efforts right now are exciting to see. You walk into one of our vaccination centers and you see a workforce that is inspired,” he said. “It is moving. You see people clearly walking around with purpose. You see faith in action. And you see people who have worked long shifts who are still smiling when that next person sits down.”

The governor said reopening schools is a top priority, but density control, masking, proper ventilation and community mitigation must be in place.

Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, updated Kentuckians on the state’s vaccine rollout reporting.

“We will begin reporting and updating daily how many unique people have been vaccinated in Kentucky. That, we will show next to the total number of first doses of vaccine allocated to the state and then you’ll also see a utilization percentage,” said Dr. Stack. “We’re committed to giving the second dose to everyone who gets the first dose, so the most important metric is who has started this vaccine series.”

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, if approved, will only require one dose, so the state can easily merge data on all three vaccinations using this new system focused on first doses.

The governor added, “I will remind everyone that we get these doses late Monday or early Tuesday. So Tuesday and Wednesday, there’s always going to be the biggest difference between our supply and how many people we’ve vaccinated. But by the time we get to that next Monday, you’ll see we’ve administered as many vaccinations as we received that week, or even more.”

Now that the federal government has committed to a minimum supply off vaccines for three weeks at a time, the state also is working with Kroger and other providers to allow vaccine reservations for up to three or four weeks out to try to manage the crush of calls online and phone systems are getting for limited doses that currently are available.

Dr. Stack also encouraged Kentuckians to stay safe this weekend during the Super Bowl.

“This is just like any other holiday or social event. You have to practice social distancing and stay home or keep gatherings very small. Wear your masks – please,” said Dr. Stack. “We can’t afford to have the disease spread now. With these mutations and these variants, it gives the virus the opportunity to learn how to defeat the antibodies that are forming to protect us after these vaccines.”

Executive Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown updated Kentuckians on COVID-19 in the state’s correctional facilities.

Currently, seven of the state’s 14 prisons have zero active inmate cases. There has been a marked reduction in active cases for both inmates and staff in the last two weeks. On Jan. 20, we had 2,227 active inmate cases and 169 active staff cases; today that number is 271 active inmate cases and 55 active staff cases.

“We have tragically lost 43 inmates; the largest number from the Kentucky State Reformatory (KSR). Of the 43 deaths, 28 were from KSR,” said Secretary Brown. “We have also lost five DOC employees as a result of complications from COVID-19. In late fall, we initiated the rapid testing of all prison staff on a weekly basis that will soon be twice a week. To date, we’ve administered over 28,500 rapid tests to people entering a prison, including staff and contractors.

“When an outbreak does occur, the prison is divided based on the inmate test results: positive cases, negative but exposed and negative. Medical staff check on each inmate individually.”

As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

New cases today: 2,592
New deaths today: 51
Positivity rate: 8.53%
Total deaths: 3,863
Currently hospitalized: 1,340
Currently in ICU: 368
Currently on ventilator: 171

Top counties with the most positive cases today are: Jefferson, Fayette, Kenton, Boone and Daviess. Each of these counties reported 100 or more new cases; Jefferson County alone reported 424.

To see a list of those reported lost to the virus today, click here.

“Everyone tune in tomorrow, where we’ll be announcing additional regional centers across Kentucky, building out our map,” said Beshear. “We’re also going to talk about local health departments which are all going to be getting a consistent supply for the next three weeks.”

On Tuesday, Gov. Beshear announced the federal COVID-19 team will increase Kentucky’s vaccine supply by an additional 5%. In total, the state’s supply will increase by 22% the week of Feb. 8 compared with the week of Jan. 25. To learn more, see the full release.

To view the full daily report, incidence rate map, information on testing locations, vaccines, contact tracing, school reports and guidance, guidance for health care providers and the White House Coronavirus Task Force reports for Kentucky and more, visit kycovid19.ky.gov.