Epidemiologist Lindsey Cunningham with the Purchase Health Department provided the update. According to Cunningham, twenty one have been tested in the Commonwealth, with four of those testing positive. The four that tested positive are from either Harrison, Feyette, or Jefferson counties.
She says with the virus being new, we can expect it to spread quickly, with the expectation that there could already be others that are infected, and that it will be weeks or possibly up to a month before McCracken County has the capability to test patients for COVID-19.
She says with the virus being new, we can expect it to spread quickly, with the expectation that there could already be others that are infected, and that it will be weeks or possibly up to a month before McCracken County has the capability to test patients for COVID-19.
Cunningham says the risk of becoming infected in Kentucky is still low, although she suggests that the elderly might not want to take the chance of getting sick. The average healthy person, however, may only suffer mild fever, dry cough, and a runny nose.
"Right now our elderly population, those that have other comorbidities are those that need to monitor and stay home." Cunningham continued, "They don't need to chance getting ill if it's going to cause acute respiratory failure."
During her presentation, she provided the following guidelines from the Kentucky COVID-19 website.
1. If you are 60 years or older, and/or have diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, kidney failure, or other chronic major medical conditions, it is recommended to avoid densely populated community events.
2. They advise nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to restrict visitors to the facilities.
3. They recommend people actively plan for telework options appropriate for their situation and support all workers/students to stay home if they are ill.
4. Only go to the emergency room for an illness that would have taken you to the hospital before the COVID-19 outbreak. If you have a runny nose, cough, fever, or other common respiratory infection symptoms, they suggest you take Tylenol, or Motrin-like products and stay home from work or school until you are fever-free. If you believe you need medical care, contact your healthcare provider for their instruction, or visit an emergency department if you believe it is an emergency.
She went on to say everyone should take the following steps to stay healthy, including getting your flu shot, washing your hands often with warm water and soap for twenty seconds, use an alcohol based hand sanitizer if soap and water are unavailable, avoid touching your face, avoid close contact with anyone that is sick, if you are sick stay home, cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue, avoid shaking hands if possible, keep things clean and disinfect frequently.
For more information on COVID-19 in Kentucky, click the link below.
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COVID-19 in Kentucky
