LOUISVILLE, Ky. — UofL Health has not seen a large influx of coronavirus patients yet, and the system’s top doctor believes hospitals in the network will be able to handle a surge if and when it happens.

UofL Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jason Smith warned, though, it’s still too early to tell if social distancing measures have been enough to contain the virus.

“I think Kentucky was well ahead of the game as far as enacting many of those policies,” Smith said. “It’s now a matter of seeing if we have slowed this down enough that we aren’t going to overwhelm our healthcare capabilities in the state.”

Smith said the UofL Health system has 1,400 beds it can use for coronavirus patients and at least 174 ventilators.

The bigger issue though is the lack of testing.

UofL Health now has drive-through testing, but Smith said it’s extremely limited right now.

“We need more testing. We need more testing in the community. We need more testing in the hospital, among our staff,” Smith said. “I know that everyone is working towards that goal and I hope to see that deployed within Louisville and within Kentucky soon.”

Smith said the hospital system has enough resources to sustain an increase in patients, but that all depends on how long the pandemic lasts.

“I think anytime you start looking at long-term disaster preparation, there will always be strains to the system, and I think that’s something we have to keep a close eye on,” Smith said. “But currently, I’m confident in our abilities to be able to, at least in the short term, deploy those resources.”

Smith said hospital workers have enough personal protection equipment for now, thanks to efforts from the state government and businesses like G.E.