Gov. Beshear again urges people to wear masks, get vaccinated

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - Governor Andy Beshear held another Team Kentucky Update.

The governor updated Kentuckians on a variety of topics, including economic development and infrastructure improvements along with the coronavirus in commonwealth, the delta variant and vaccinations against COVID-19.

Gov. Beshear announced that hospitals across the state are seeing more people being hospitalized with COVID-19. He said the state had more people in the ICU with COVID on Wednesday than at any other point in the pandemic.

Hospitals are facing several challenges as the increase in cases continues.

“Yesterday, we passed a record none of us wanted to see. We had more people in the ICU fighting for their lives from Covid than we have had from any point during this pandemic,” Gov. Beshear said.

State leaders say they have seen an increase in COVID deaths in people under the age of 50 since June. The governor says most hospitals are seeing 90 percent of their COVID-19 patients being unvaccinated.

Gov. Beshear warns this is the most dangerous time for COVID-19 but he says the solution is simple, more vaccinations and more masks.

He also says the flood of misinformation continues to hamper their abilities, pointing to a photo of him at the state fair and criticism he wasn’t wearing a mask then. He says it was because it was outside.

“And if you are spreading these, you are intentionally confusing them, but you are also lying to them,” Gov. Beshear said. “My faith teaches me that lying is wrong.”

Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Stack reminded Kentuckians to stay home if you are sick or have symptoms in order to stop spreading the virus. He also advised Kentuckians to not go to the hospital unless they have an emergency to try and not put any more strain on hospital workers.

Governor Beshear said the state currently has the highest positivity rate than at any other time in the pandemic.

The governor was asked about outdoor capacity and spacing. He says, as of now, there are no capacity guidelines for outdoor events, including high school football games, which start Friday night. He says simply play it safe and smart.

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