Kentucky’s COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen and hospitals in the commonwealth are being stretched to keep up with demand.
Governor Andy Beshear said during his Thursday update that two-thirds of Kentucky’s hospitals are now at critical staffing shortage.
The number of Kentuckians on a ventilator is also at a record high and the state had to request 40 more ventilators from the federal government to disperse to local hospitals.
Beshear says more young people than ever are becoming sick and the trend has been about one of four new cases have been 18 or younger.
The governor says seven teams of 15 members each of the Kentucky National Guard have deployed to several hospitals to do what they can to assist with the COVID response. The Medical Center at Bowling Green is the only Western Kentucky facility receiving the help, though the governor says there will likely be additional deployments in the future.