In a similar vein, while Lake Cumberland has experienced 274 positive COVID-19 cases, those cases resulted in over 1,800 “close contacts”. This means your local health department has reached out to over 1,800 people to determine how at-risk they were of contracting COVID-19 from their case exposures. A significant number of these were considered “high-risk” and asked to self-quarantine. Some of these “close contacts” converted to positives (became positive COVID-19 cases). The fact that they were already self-quarantined directly prevented other exposures. Thus, we have been actively mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic in our district.

Health departments across the nation are reporting how the public and political establishment are turning against them as they attempt to enforce closure orders, social distancing and the wearing of masks, for example. Understandably, everyone longs for things to be “back to normal”. No one wishes that more than public health. We certainly do not relish the role of enforcing such orders when they place us at odds with our friends, neighbors, business owners, worshipers, politicians, etcetera. However, we are required to do so by law, by administrative regulation and by Executive Order of the Governor. We also sincerely believe that the wearing of masks, the avoidance of crowds, and social distancing, for example, will help to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The Lake Cumberland area has experienced 274 Cumulative Confirmed Cases and there have been 12,448 Confirmed COVID-19 cases across 119 Kentucky Counties as of 06/14/20 (this includes 12,445 statewide plus 3 recently reported cases in Lake Cumberland not in the Governor’s daily report).

Regardless of the confirmed case count for any Lake Cumberland County, we believe COVID-19 to be widespread.  LCDHD is working to identify and contact all those with whom any positive case may have come into close contact.