No pattern to COVID-19 surge in Whitley County

Whitley County has seen a huge spike in the number of new COVID–19 cases over the last week, but Whitley County Health Department Public Health Director Marcy Rein said it can’t be tied to a few places or activities.

“It is super widespread,” Rein said.

Between last Wednesday and last Monday, the health department reported 208 new COVID–19 cases, bringing the county to a total of 299 active cases.

In addition, officials have reported three COVID–19 related deaths over that time period.

“Normally, we would see a dip over the weekend,” Rein said.

The health department reported 45 new cases on Monday, 10 on Sunday and 37 on Saturday.

As to whether the spike could be attributed to gatherings over Thanksgiving, Rein said it is a little bit too soon for such cases to be diagnosed through testing.

“It is entirely possible,” Rein said.

Rein added that the new cases involve a wide range of ages, and locations within the counties. However, it is not traceable to any of the large employers.

“The only trend, is there is no real trend,” Rein said.

Rein said the health department has five people currently involved in completing the contact tracing process for new cases.

“We had to completely divert two nurses,” Rein said noting the health department has been forced to defer other healthcare procedures such as pregnancy testing and testing for sexually transmitted diseases.

“We are not doing as much COVID-19 testing as we would like to do,” Rein said adding that the increase in contact tracing is putting more pressure on other staff.

“It is an all-hands-on deck situation,” Rein said.

Rein said with the COVID–19 incidence rate in Whitley County now exceeding 100, residents are encouraged to stay home as much as possible.

“There are just not any safe activities that involve other people,” Rein said.