The vast majority of Kentucky counties now carry the lowest level of coronavirus spread, the color green on the COVID state map. But, more than 30 are in the medium category, and eight are in the highest red level. Many of those counties have been impacted by summertime flooding. Scott Lockard is the Kentucky River District health director. Lockard said it’s not surprising COVID is still prevalent in those communities.
“When you’re doing the mass sheltering or you’re getting people together for resource distribution, they’re trying to take as many precautions as they can, but it is definitely I feel like contributing to the continued high levels of case transmission in our area.”
Lockard noted the counties of Perry, Knott, Letcher, Leslie, Lee, Wolfe, and Owsley tend to trail other areas when a surge comes. But, the health official added these areas also tend to be the last to come out of a coronavirus surge.
Lockard said delays in starting in-person schooling have also played a factor in coronavirus activity.
“Our counties because of the flooding again we are just now getting back into schools and have only been going for a couple of weeks and, all the kids together and we’re seeing the COVID being passed back and forth in our school setting with all that transmission,” said Lockard.
Lockard said case levels have been falling consistently in the last few weeks. He said there were 256 new cases last week. That compared to 877 cases in the first week of August. The southeastern Kentucky health official does expect his area to move into the low green category in time.
