Beshear says Ky. will be fastest state at getting teachers and school staff widely vaccinated, but many are refusing shots
Ky. Dept. for Public Health graph, relabeled by Ky. Health News; for a larger version, click on it.
—–
By Melissa Patrick
Beshear said at a news briefing that he hopes every educator and school worker will have an opportunity to get a vaccination in the next two weeks. “What we’re excited about is that we think we’re going to be the fastest state to vaccinate our educators in every part of the state,” he said. “That will provide a level of protection to the faculty and to everybody who works in that building.”
“So the myth that Covid doesn’t happen in or around schools is a myth. And that’s one of the reasons that our schools work so hard. They do a good job trying to protect students and staff,” Beshear said. “And that’s also why we are working to become the fastest state to vaccinate those that work in our school buildings so that we can get back open full time to our students.”
Ky. Dept. for Public Health graph, relabeled by Ky. Health News; for a larger version, click on it. |
Daily numbers: Beshear announced that the state’s weekly new-case numbers dropped for the second week in a row and the share of Kentuckians who tested positive for the virus in the past seven days had fallen below 10% for this first time since Dec. 31, to 9.93%. And while still high, he said Monday’s single day of cases, 1,268, was the lowest it’s been for a Monday since Jan. 4. Mondays are usually low due to limited testing on weekends; the number is the lowest since the day after Christmas.
“Our cases are way too high, but I think when you look at this it shows how important the steps we took are and how important the ability to be able to take steps is when you are facing exponential growth in cases,” Beshear said. “We believe that this decline is real, not just a result of maybe fewer tests happening, because we know the positivity rate is also going down.”
“So folks, keep it up,” he said. “What I absolutely know from what we see from looking at the numbers is that you’re wearing masks. You’re wearing masks every time you go out. You’re wearing masks when you’re inside working and there are other people. Keep it up. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Mahone |
The governor honored Tara Mahone, who died Jan. 15 from Covid-19. She was a court designated worker who worked with young people in Christian County. Beshear said she will be inducted into the Department of Family and Juvenile Services‘ Hall of Fame by the Administrative Office of the Courts.
- Seven of the 39 deaths were probable and 32 were confirmed. The fatalities were a Barren County woman, 79; a Bath County man, 85; a Butler County man, 85; a Calloway County woman, 59; a Christian County woman, 79; two Christian County men, 77 and 90; a Clay County woman, 67; a Clay County man, 68; three Crittenden County women,74, 83 and 97; two Crittenden County men, 50 and 78; an Edmonson County man, 65; two Fayette County women, 69 and 79; a Fayette County man, 82; a Floyd County woman, 72; a Graves County woman, 83; a Greenup County man, 69; a Hart County woman, 90; a Hopkins County man, 93; two Jefferson County women, 78 and 82; a Livingston County woman, 85; a Lyon County man, 66; two Madison County men, 74 and 80; a Mercer County woman, 73; a Metcalfe County woman, 82; a Monroe County woman, 81; a Rowan County man, 70; three Simpson County women, 65, 96 and 98; a Warren County woman and man, both 73; and a Washington County man, 75.
- Counties with 10 or more cases were Jefferson, 272; Fayette, 149; Calloway, 52; Kenton, 43; Franklin, 37; Madison, 30; Bullitt, 28; Boone, 26; Pulaski, 25; Jessamine, 23; Daviess, 21; Barren, McCracken, Trigg and Warren, 18; Campbell and Nelson, 17; Carter and Oldham, 16; Pike, 15; Graves, Hardin, Letcher, and Scott, 14; Boyd and Shelby, 12; Floyd, 11; Boyle, Harrison, Hart, Logan, Mercer and Taylor, 10.
-
None of the state’s 120 counties had an incidence rate of 100 new cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days. The closest was in Hancock County, with 95 per 100,000. The state’s overall incidence rate is 58.93 per 100,000.
-
The hospital readiness regions where intensive-care beds are more than 80% full are Barren River, at 87.04%; Northeast, 89.06%; East, at 82.35%; and Lake Cumberland, 95.56%. The Northeast ‘s overall capacity is also tight, at 85.33%.
-
In long-term care facilities, 70 more residents and 55 more staff tested positive for the virus, bringing their active cases up to 917 residents and 442 staff. Thirty-three more residents have been identified as Covid-19 fatalities, bringing the long-term-care total up to 2,130.
- Amy Cubbage, Beshear’s general counsel, gave a detailed update on unemployment insurance claims filed and pending, $300 payments, Forms 1099, debit cards and fraud reporting. Kentuckians with questions about their 1099 forms can email KYOU1099@ky.gov beginning tomorrow. Further, she said there has been an uptick in fraudulent claims and encouraged both individuals and employers who suspect fraud to email UIFraud@ky.gov. Click here for more information on this topic in Monday’s news release.
- In Louisville, pandemic restrictions “are stacking up,” Sarah Ladd reports for the Courier Journal. Since the late-fall ban indoor dining, Louisville’s health department has surveyed hundreds of businesses and “taken enforcement action on more than 300 times during that period, at places ranging from restaurants to gas stations to grocery stores,” Ladd writes. “Inspectors have issued warnings, written citations and fined businesses — and they’ve also provided a sympathetic ear for stressed-out owners.” As of Jan. 22, the department had taken 31 enforcement actions so far in 2021, she reports.
- Cres Bride, the co-owner of Joe’s Older than Dirt restaurant and bar, which has received four violations since mid-November, told Ladd that in light of November data from the health department that found restaurants were near the bottom of the list for being spreaders of the virus, with workplaces, parties and schools responsible for most, he believes governmental agencies have decided to “persecute one of the least harmful business entities.”
- Louisville testing sites did as many as 45,000 a week in November, but by the second week of January that number dropped to 22,000, Ladd and Deborah Yetter report. The city’s health director, Dr. Sarah Moyer, is urging people to get tested, especially if they have any common symptoms of the virus, including fatigue, headache, congestion, runny nose and cough. Some people also lose the sense of taste and smell. Also, she said, if you think you’ve been exposed to the virus or are around others frequently through work, church, shopping or other reasons, you need to get regularly tested.
- Moderna‘s vaccine proved effective against the United Kingdom and South Africa variants of the virus, the drugmaker said in a Jan. 25 news release. However, the company plans to develop a booster shot for the South Africa variant, known as B.1.351, after finding its vaccine produced a weaker response against this strain, Becker’s Hospital Review reports.