Governor Andy Beshear is again pleading with Kentuckians to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as many of the state’s hospitals are at or nearing capacity.
Hospital leaders from across the Commonwealth talked about the stress the current COVID surge is placing on their facilities during Beshear’s regular Thursday briefing.
The governor says Kentucky has 21 hospitals with critical staffing shortages.
He says the mask mandate for schools is working with students indoors and unable to properly social distance in many cases. While there have been some quarantines across Kentucky, the governor says it’s nothing like places in Florida have seen where the governor is fighting against mask mandates. Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack urged people to only go to the hospital if you need immediate care, and if it can wait, then you should wait on going to the hospital.
Governor Beshear says many healthcare workers are feeling tired and worn down from the pandemic and he’s calling on Kentuckians to find ways to lift them up in the coming days and weeks.
He says there continues to be a small uptick in vaccinations in Kentucky, with 2.43 million having received at least their first shot.