On March 23, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order to cease elective medical procedures to limit the spread of COVID-19 and preserve hospital capacity.
But starting Monday, April 27, the state moved forward with its Phase 1 Reopening Plan, allowing non-urgent/emergent health care services, diagnostic radiology and lab services to resume. That includes services in hospital outpatient settings; health care clinics and medical offices; physical therapy settings, chiropractic offices and optometrists; and dental offices (but with enhanced aerosol protections).
On Sunday, when discussing the reopening of some health care facilities, Beshear said:
“Tomorrow is the first day since this virus hit that instead of adding restrictions, we are reopening some areas. We are starting with health care for some very simple reasons. First, people have not been able to go in to some types of visits and important appointments to keep themselves healthy. And people can grow unhealthy or have other issues that are unrelated to COVID-19.
“Second, we need to get our health care industry moving again because as we want to test more people we will need our health care industry to be operating at a greater level to make that happen. And third, in thinking about how to do this gradually in a way that protects people, in a way that we can always take a temperature as we move forward, health care is the place to start.”
The phased reopening of health care is the first step under Beshear’s new Healthy at Work initiative, which he says will help Kentucky businesses reopen safely when the time is right.
Visit https://t.co/n7homY7tSv to watch today’s news conference https://t.co/ASYCeSPhVU pic.twitter.com/U9DfrXeHd1
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) April 27, 2020
“From a public health standpoint, from a medical standpoint, we would probably prefer to wait even longer before lifting any restrictions,” Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner for the state’s Department for Public Health, said. “But we’re trying to balance competing societal needs: people’s need to get back to work, people’s need to perform other important functions in society, people’s need to pursue their lives, with the need to keep people safe.”
Stack and Beshear together outlined a four-phased plan to bring even more health care back online. All phases will need to rollback or be reevaluated if new infections of COVID-19 or outbreaks occur.
Phase 1, as previously stated, started Monday but does not apply to long-term care settings or prisons and does not include elective surgeries or procedures.
Phase 2 of the state’s plan opens up on Wednesday, May 6. That is when outpatient surgeries and invasive procedures can resume, although hospitals and facilities must meet the guidelines outlined at chfs.ky.gov and patients must have COVID-19 pre-procedure testing “per professional association guidelines consistent with Kentucky Department of Public Health guidance.”
Phase 3 can begin on Wednesday, May 13. During this phase, hospitals and care facilities are allowed to do non-emergency surgeries and procedures at 50 percent of their “pre-COVID-19-era patient volume.”
Phase 4 is slated to begin Wednesday, May 27. A press release from the governor says, “At that point, most of the restrictions on types of procedures and volume will be left to the facilities to determine. However, oversight and guidelines meant to ensure that capacity remains in the system will continue.”
During the press briefing on Monday, Beshear said more industry opening dates would be announced soon.
He also said, “By May 11, we’re going to be asking everybody in every area that we reopen and in our essential businesses to be wearing masks. This is how…we can reduce the spread of this virus.”
“We’re also going to need people to wear these to the grocery store, or other places that they’re going out where there are other people,” he continued. “Now, if you go on a run and it’s just you, you don’t need to wear this. If you are in your home and it’s just your family, you don’t need to wear this. But this does help us open different things a little bit earlier.
“So we’re trying to give everybody two weeks to go out there, to get a mask. We’ll try to have different programs. We’re handing them out in Louisville and Lexington this week. But this is something we’re going to need to do.”
He also noted that, yes, some people may think these masks look strange and they may be uncomfortable but this is just another small sacrifice people need to make to keep each other safe. Beshear also said if you are not a health care worker, you do not need a surgical mask or medical-grade mask; what you need is a cloth mask.
As of April 27, there were at least 4,146 confirmed coronavirus cases in Kentucky and 213 deaths. At least 1,521 Kentuckians have recovered from COVID-19.
This article appears in Apr 15 – May 5, 2020.