LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., along with the state’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Steven Stack announced Kentucky’s first case of COVID-19 five years ago.
Dr. Stack said the virus has changed society.
“COVID’s changed all of our lives, and it’s changed the very trajectory of society in a certain way,” Stack said. “The day that we actually had the first positive test result actually made it concretely real.”
Reflecting on 2020, Stack recalls deciding on how to approach the virus.
“The governor and I had anticipated that the day would come. It was a matter of sooner than later. Letting him know that was a momentous moment. It was pivotal because we knew at that point that things had changed and we were going to be on a journey that could be very difficult,” Dr. Stack said.
It was a difficult time with no testing, no guidance and not much was known about COVID-19.
“I had just started my job a month earlier, so I was new in the role. The governor had just taken office in November of 2019, and that was very early in the administration,” Dr. Stack said.
The virus created uncertainty.
“It really was just a lot of long, long days and long hours. But, you know, at the peak, this disease at the worst part of it was taking 460 Kentuckians a week who were dying from it. And so, there was never a moment where we wavered in our commitment that the work was essential and that there were a lot of people depending on us just to do the best we could,” Dr. Stack said.
Stack said COVID-19 changed our lives.
“Our lives have been profoundly changed by COVID-19. We have lost as we’re talking here today, more than 20,400 persons to COVID-19 that we have been able to document. There have been more because we don’t ever get to capture it all and it is still, if you are 65 or older, nine times more likely you will die of COVID-19 than of influenza. So it is still a very serious disease,” Stack said.
On Thursday, Gov. Beshear and Dr. Stack plan to mark the anniversary with a ceremony in Frankfort.
