Coronavirus Cases Rise Rapidly Sending Louisville Into Red Alert Level For Community Transmission

Louisville KY

13 August, 2021

8:44 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Louisville: August 10, 2021 Get the latest updates. Today, Mayor Greg Fischer, joined by Connie Mendel, Associate Director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, and Dr. Jon Klein, Vice Dean of Research at the University of Louisville School of Medicine to provide an update on COVID-19, as case counts have sharply increased over the last week, placing the city into the red alert level for high community spread for the first time since February. With Jefferson County Public Schools gearing up for the new school year on Wednesday, Mayor Fischer stressed the importance of coming together as a community to get this virus under control and to avoid outbreaks in school facilities by getting vaccinated. "We are back at a point we deeply hoped to avoid, but knew was possible," the mayor said. "Our city's children who are returning to school this week are depending on us to reverse this trend of rising cases. No one wants the disruption of an outbreak in a school building. Unlike previous spikes, we now have a tool that is safe and highly effective at stopping serious infections and death from this virus. Get vaccinated." Mendel reported travel, social events and healthcare settings as the most frequently reported exposure settings where cases were 14 days prior to symptom onset after being exposed to the virus. Additionally, she said that positive cases mentioned likely are contributing factors to the continued community spread we are seeing. While acknowledging the sacrifice and commitment by residents this past year for their efforts in curbing the rate of infection from the virus, Mendel noted that as this virus mutates to find new ways to infect people. Knowing how the virus evolves, everyone must work together and adapt to the public health measures that were in place last winter to stop this disease. "As a community, we have done a great job over the past year working together to limit infections to our family, friends and co-workers," Mendel said. "Unfortunately, we are approaching the same level of case counts and hospitalizations when we reached peak levels in the winter. "Wear a mask in public indoor settings, use six feet of spacing to social distance, and wash and sanitize your hands often." Mendel encouraged frequent testing, regardless of vaccination status, for individuals that are engaged in activities such as traveling, going to events with large crowds, working and are around people outside of their immediate household. She emphasized that while breakthrough infections in those fully vaccinated are rare, they do happen, and testing is an additional layer of protection that allows the health officials to isolate positive cases and quarantine contacts, providing aide and medical intervention when needed through contract tracing. Mayor Fischer said, "Vaccinations continue to be the first line of defense and best option to protect family, friends, and others from severe complications that can arise from COVID-19. It is up to the community to do our part in fighting this relentless virus." Individuals who need assistance scheduling a vaccine appointment or finding a vaccine clinic can call the LOU Health Helpline at 502-912-8598 or visit vaccines.gov to find providers near them. They can also text their zip code to GETVAX (438829) for English or VACUNA (822862) for Spanish to receive an address of nearby vaccination centers. "We do not want you to end up in the hospital, the ICU or on a ventilator," Mendel said, "This virus has claimed too many lives and we don't want that to keep happening." Dr. Klein, shared his expertise on the latest information regarding vaccine trends, and breakthrough cases. Dr. Klein said that throughout the pandemic he's met individuals that are resistant to all vaccines. While those individuals may not want to be talked into vaccines being necessary, they are receptive to having their questions answered. "There's a group out there that's still persuadable," Dr. Klein said. "They still want to have their questions answered about the vaccine. If someone who's a trusted caregiver, a doctor, nurse, respiratory therapist in the neighborhood, answers those questions, frequently those people will go and get vaccinated. I think that's mostly where the group of people who are hesitant or in the middle about getting vaccinated, currently stand. They want some questions answered in a non-judgmental and straightforward way." On the topic of breakthrough infections, Dr. Klein said more and more cases are being reported. Despite this, most of those cases exhibit mild symptoms, with a few developing serious symptoms. Dr. Klein likened the protection of vaccines to umbrellas in a storm. They offer protection and are a measure to ensure we limit the spread of the virus and curb the increase in COVID cases. "When it rains, we all take out our umbrellas," Dr. Klein said. "Vaccines are like umbrellas. If it's raining and it's a mild or moderate amount of rain, the umbrella is going to keep you dry. But if you were to take an umbrella out in the middle of a hurricane, you're going to get wet because it's just not a perfect way to protect us. In some parts of this country, people are in the middle of a virus hurricane. It's not surprising that vaccines are not protecting us fully. They are still remarkably protective against serious illness and death. That's not to say it won't happen, but it's going to be rare, and the vaccines are absolutely essential if we want to get our lives back." Dr. Klein discussed misconceptions regarding those previously infected with COVID-19 having immunity to the virus saying that data shows that any notion of behind that thinking is not true. "The data that we have in medical science from Israel, England, and the United States indicates while some measure of immunity is given by a previous infection, that previous infection plus vaccination is much more protective," he said. "Just surviving infection does not give you a level of immunity that's fully protective. The other thing to remember is that people who were sick in May, June all the way through November of 2020 were exposed to a virus that was very different than the Delta virus we're dealing with now. Their immunity is not as good as we would hope. They absolutely need to go get their vaccine." This press release was produced by the City of Louisville. The views expressed here are the author's own.