Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear provided an update on the state’s status in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, May 11. The press conference opened with Gov. Beshear reminding Kentuckians of the state’s commitment to overcome the challenges brought on by the coronavirus.
“We are committed to passing this test of humanity, to dealing with this once in every hundred year challenge, and making sure we protect one another in doing what it takes to defeat COVID-19. We’re going to get through this together,” he said in his opening remarks.
After sharing some social media posts of Kentuckians practicing safety guidelines as they continue with their daily lives, Gov. Beshear then shifted to a more serious tone and prepared Kentuckians for some heavier news as he turned his attention to the focal point of the press conference.
“Our goal has always been to be transparent while making sure we don’t scare folks. This is one we’re going to have to breathe through. Today, we’re letting you know we have a 10-year-old here in Kentucky on a ventilator due to COVID-19,” the governor said with a solemn tone.
The young patient is one of a few across the country who have developed a mysterious illness that seems to be related to COVID-19. Symptoms include fever and abdominal issues such as vomiting, diarrhea and severe stomach pain. Existing cases have shown that children who develop this illness seem to do so in response to a COVID-19 infection, during which their immune system becomes hyper-active.
The mysterious respiratory and abdominal illness is, as of now, rare.
Dr. Steven Stack of the Kentucky Department for Public Health assumed the podium to provide details on how the coronavirus affects children and adults differently.
“For those of you who are parents, you should still take comfort in the fact children overall do extraordinarily well with this and don’t have serious illness,” said Dr. Stack.
However, he went on to explain that recent data has shown children and adolescents are experiencing a different reaction to the coronavirus than found in most adults.
“There are a small number of children who can get a syndrome where their immune system apparently becomes overactive, and they have an extensive inflammatory response in their bodies. Some can have respiratory problems, others can have gastro-intestinal problems. There is not much you can do to prevent this except do all the steps we have been talking about,” Dr. Stack said. “We’ve said repeatedly that this disease is still out there, and though we’ve had great success in blunting its worst impact at large across the state, it’s still out there and it’s still a danger.”
Dr. Stack reiterated the importance of social distancing guidelines and urged people to continue practicing the safety precautions the state has employed for the last several weeks.
“I don’t want to be sensational about any of this; I want to be just the facts and down the middle as much as I can. For kids who get this syndrome, it’s serious,” he said. “The young patient we have in Kentucky is critically ill at this time. And until we learn more about it, until we find treatments that can help patients who get infected, until we find vaccines that can prevent people from getting it, the only thing we have to help people from getting it is to stay healthy at home. Please, pay close attention to the healthy-at-home and healthy-at-work guidelines.”
Gov. Beshear resumed the podium to provide the newest numbers related to COVID-19 in Kentucky. As of Sunday, May 9, 141 new cases were found in Kentucky, making a total of 6,667 total cases in Kentucky. One of the new cases included a 6-year-old from Boone County.
Gov. Beshear said he wants Kentuckians who have questions to visit healthyatwork.ky.gov for guidelines on keeping up with safety and health precautions necessary to keep Kentucky safe as the state prepares to partially reopen. More COVID-19 guidelines regarding reopening can be found on the state of Kentucky website.
This article appears in May 6 – Jun 14, 2020.
