Contact tracing update, Laurel County has 133 new cases of COVID-19

Cabinet for Health and Family Services executive policy advisor Mark Carter estimated that, at minimum, contact tracing efforts have prevented more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 400 deaths. Contact tracers have successfully contacted 94,000 Kentuckians identified as having been exposed to the virus, helping prevent further spread of the virus, avoiding hospitalizations and saving lives, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

Whitley County

The Whitley County Health Department announced 67 additional COVID–19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the county’s total to 2,452.

There are currently 309 active cases, of which 13 are hospitalized.

With the new cases, Whitley County’s COVID–19 incidence rate stands at 81.2.

Laurel County

The Laurel County Health Department announced 133 additional cases of COVID–19 on Tuesday, bringing the county’s total to 4,160.

There are currently 51 individuals hospitalized.

With the new cases, Laurel County COVID–19 incidence rate stands at 70.5.

Knox County

The Knox County Kentucky Health Department announced 46 additional cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the county’s total to 2,067.

Five of the new cases involved children, officials stated.

There are currently 245 active cases in Knox County.

With the additional cases, Knox County’s COVID–19 incidence rate stands at 74.3.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department announced 38 additional COVID–19 cases, bringing the county’s total to 1,951.

There are currently 220 active cases, of which eight are hospitalized.

With the additional cases, Bell County’s COVID–19 incidence rate stands at 90.

Statewide

Gov. Andy Beshear announced 1,781 additional COVID–19 cases in Kentucky on Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 280,836.

Beshear reported 23 additional deaths, bringing the death toll to 2,772.

Beshear said 1,760 Kentuckians are currently hospitalized, of which 430 are in intensive care.

As of Tuesday, 111 of Kentucky’s 120 counties have a COVID–19 incidence rate greater than 25, which places them in the red zone.

Bath, Magoffin, Lewis, Casey, Owen, Wolfe, Bracken, and Lyon counties are orange zones.

Hickman County has the lowest incidence rate at 9.8 which means that it is in the yellow zone.

Boyle County has the highest incidence rate at 149.7.

Cabinet for Health and Family Services executive policy advisor Mark Carter updated Kentuckians on the state’s contact tracing program.

Carter said 60 out of 61 local health departments use the state’s contact tracing system. Since mid-May, the state has hired 1,200 more contact tracing staff members, raising the total number of staffers to more than 1,600.

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act designated $78 million for the statewide contact tracing system, of which $47.7 million, or 61 percent has already been spent. The rest of the funding will be spent before Dec. 31, 2021, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

Carter estimated that contact tracing prevented hospitalizations saved more than $31 million in health care costs, on top of saving families from the physical, mental and emotional toll of a hospitalization.

Carter also said that contact tracing staff had conducted 258,000 daily check-ins with Kentuckians infected or exposed to COVID-19.

Finally, Carter spoke about some of the challenges that have prevented contact tracers from reaching even more exposed Kentuckians, including delayed adoption of the statewide system and a dramatic increase in cases which overwhelmed local health departments and slowed the time between exposure and being called by a contact tracer.

“While we all are anxious to be vaccinated, until we can be, we have to do the things we always harp on: wearing a mask, social distancing, getting tested if you feel sick, washing your hands and participating in contact tracing,” said Carter. “If we can do that, we’ll get to the vaccine and we’ll get through this pandemic together.”