Calling it one of the most dangerous times of the pandemic, Governor Andy Beshear called on Kentuckians to get vaccinated and to take other steps to slow the spread of COVID-19 during his briefing Tuesday morning.
The governor noted exponential growth in hospitalizations, especially in Western Kentucky.
Another frightening trend is the growing number of younger people and children who are becoming very ill with the Delta variant of the virus.
He reiterated Kentucky will likely have more hospitalized COVID patients by the end of this week than in any time during the pandemic.
The governor did not announce any new restrictions, but says a new statewide mask mandate is under consideration.
There has also been an increase in fully-vaccinated individuals becoming sick, but they are still far less likely to become ill enough to require hospitalization than those who haven’t gotten vaccinated.
Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack continues to plead with Kentuckians to get vaccinated and warns against taking medical advice from conspiracy theorists or any other less-than-reputable source found on social media.
Gov. Beshear and Dr. Stack both fear Kentucky could see continued growth in hospitalizations similar to states to our south, where very few ICU beds are available in some cases.
Watch entire briefing below: