PPE in Kentucky

Kentucky has 177 newly confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the total statewide to 3,192, according to an update Tuesday from Gov. Andy Beshear.

“We have, in fact, likely plateaued,” Beshear said during his daily briefing in Frankfort. “It means we’re not on the increase, and we’re not yet on the decrease. But, especially given that we’re a month into this, it at least lets us know where we think we are subject to what we learn every day.”

Locally, the Barren River District Health Department confirmed 32 new coronavirus cases in its eight-county district on its website Tuesday afternoon. The 248 total cases include 132 in Warren County, 68 in Butler County, 20 in Simpson County, nine in Barren County, eight in both Logan and Edmonson counties and three in Hart County. Metcalfe County has no confirmed cases.

There are at least eight confirmed cases in Allen County, according to the Allen County Health Department, which is not part of the Barren River health department.

Beshear also mentioned Tuesday that an 81-year-old-man in Butler County died from the virus, but it appears that death has previously been counted locally. The Barren River district has five deaths to date: two in Simpson County and three in Butler County.

Estimates from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation said Kentucky reached its peak resource use Tuesday, a measurement that includes hospital beds, ICU beds and ventilators.

Kentucky is projected to reach its peak in virus-related deaths Sunday.

As of Tuesday, Beshear said 17 additional people have died from the virus, bringing the state’s death toll to 171. While 1,266 of those diagnosed to date with the virus have reportedly recovered, 286 are currently hospitalized – 165 of whom are in intensive care.

Racial demographics for about 77 percent of the 3,102 cases were available, showing that 76.91 percent were white, 13.56 percent were African-American, 5.24 percent were multiracial, 4.23 percent were Asian and 0.05 percent were Native American or Alaskan Native. As for ethnic demographics, about 72 percent of cases were accounted for: 92.57 percent were non-Hispanic and 7.43 percent were Hispanic.

Of deaths due to the virus, nearly 84 percent of the 171 cases were accounted for, showing 78.47 percent were white, 19.44 percent were African American, 1.39 percent were Asian and 0.69 percent were multiracial. The ethnicities of around 82 percent of cases show 99.29 percent were non-Hispanic and 0.71 percent were Hispanic.

Beshear also announced a new outline Tuesday for Kentuckians to begin transitioning from being “Healthy at Home” to “Healthy at Work.”

“When we look at the long-term reopening up of the economy, we end up doing it in a shorter duration by not making some foolish or some very risky decisions,” he said.

The initiative will be rolled out in two phases: Phase I is an evaluation of the state’s readiness, and Phase II is an individual and business readiness evaluation.

Phase I “Healthy At Work” benchmarks, which must be met before Phase II may begin, include 14 days of decreasing cases; increased testing capacity on contact tracing; personal protective equipment availability; ability to protect at-risk populations; ability to social distance and follow the CDC’s guidelines on large gatherings; preparedness for possible future spike; and status of vaccine and treatment.

In Phase II, businesses will be required to submit a “Business Reopen Proposal” and fill out an application that includes questions about criteria that health departments will consider “in evaluating whether your business can safely reopen.”

Among the criteria are the ability for businesses to “temperature test each employee each day” and to “mandate employees and customers (wear) masks.”

“Our new normal is not going to be the old normal,” Beshear said. “Every plan has to be really different from what regular operations looked like before.”

Asked when high school sports may begin again, Beshear said games without fans might be possible in the fall, depending on the status of the virus.

A news release from Beshear’s office Tuesday evening indicated Kentucky currently has about 1.5 million surgical masks, 1.2 million respirator masks, 446,000 face shields, 4.5 million gloves and 37,000 gowns.