Weekly Coronavirus Update From Louisville Department Of Public Health And Wellness

Press release from the City of Louisville:

September 22, 2020

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (September 22, 2020) – Louisville’s COVID-19 status continues to remain in the “orange” alert level this week, according to Dr. Sarah Moyer, Chief Health Strategist and director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW). An orange alert level includes a combination of data metrics but most notably means there are 10-25 positive cases per 100,000 people per day.

There was only a slight increase in cases over the previous week for a total of 865. Reported deaths so far are also down from the previous week. The health department’s contact tracing team continues to expand and is reaching out to the daily number of new cases with phone numbers.

Here are the key indicators for the week of September 15 – 22, 2020:

• Slight upward trend with 865 confirmed cases.
• Louisville’s rolling two-week average positivity rate is at 4.8% today as we continue to see it slightly trend downward.
• Hospitalization data:
  • 8.3 % of currently hospitalized patients have COVID-19 as of today.
  • 25 patients in ICU with COVID-19 as of September 21.
  • 16 COVID-19 patients on ventilators as of September 21. (Hospitalization data is updated at 11a.m. daily.)

“COVID-19 continues to be in every ZIP code,” Dr. Moyer said. “I want to encourage everyone to keep wearing your masks and limit any social gatherings to your bubble and outside, six feet apart. We are seeing these simple measures work. I know these are challenging times for everyone, and I am grateful that most people in Louisville continue to do their part to keep each other safe.”

Contact Tracing – New Data

Lacuna’s 176 team members are calling more than 1,300 cases and contacts daily. To date, the contact tracing team has closed 15,000 cases for people who tested positive. There are approximately 1,000 in “assessment” status waiting to complete initial case interview. However, about 400 of these cases are missing phone numbers, delaying the contact tracing process. Currently 700 people who are positive are in "isolation" status - meaning they have completed their assessment interview with a contact tracer and are at home isolating.

“When someone gets tested for COVID-19, it’s very important that they take the time to provide the correct and best ways for us to reach them,” said Karen Handmaker, the executive leading they city’s contact tracing strategies. “We want to make sure people have what they need to safely isolate or quarantine. We also want to check in on them daily to make sure their symptoms aren’t worsening and that they get immediate medical attention if needed.”

Handmaker also encouraged anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or who has been exposed to someone who has tested positive to call the LOU HEALTH COVID-19 Helpline at 502-912-8598.

“Please reach out to us. You don’t have to wait for us to call you. We want to answer your questions and offer you help as soon as possible,” she said.

“We believe that our community recognizes the importance of contact tracing and is taking full advantage of our Helpline to ask their questions about COVID-19 and contact tracing as evidenced by the more than 1,000 calls we have received and the gratitude we get from people we help,” she added.

This press release was produced by the City of Louisville. The views expressed here are the author’s own.