Though the numbers are low compared to some of the huge surges across the country, there has been a definitive rise in coronavirus cases in the area. And while the hospital has reopened their COVID-19 unit as a precaution, so far the hospitalization and death rates have remained low in Daviess County.
The positivity rate is harder to track on a local level, as private labs aren’t required to report the negative results to the Green River District Health Department.
“The positivity rate is only something they can tell on a state level, not a local level,” said GRDHD Director Clay Horton. “We have so many different folks reporting and we don’t get all of those results. And honestly at this point it’s not our top priority — our priority is making sure there is enough testing available to the public.”
Gov. Andy Beshear reported Friday that the statewide positivity rate, based on a seven-day rolling average, had risen to 4.5% — up from 2.87% the previous week and 2.47% two weeks ago.
There is not sufficient data to determine the positivity rate in Daviess County, though the raw numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are available daily.
While cases have gone up, rates of hospitalization and deaths have gone down.
Since an update on July 3, an additional 55 cases have been reported in Daviess County compared to just five more hospitalizations and no new deaths.
That has dropped the hospitalization rate from 9.7% to 9.4%, and the death rate from 1.6% to 1.4%. (Rates are calculated by dividing the number of hospitalizations/deaths by the number of known cases.)
Daviess County COVID-19 reports
| July 3 | July 13 | |
| Total cases | 435 | 500 |
| Currently hospitalized | 3 | 7 |
| Ever hospitalized | 42 | 47 |
| Deaths | 7 | 7 |
| Recovered | 378 | 422 |
The same can be said for the Green River District. Since the report on July 3, an additional 191 cases have been reported in the district compared to just 11 more hospitalizations and no new deaths.
That has dropped the hospitalization rate from 10.7% to 10.0% and the death rate from 1.3% to 1.1%. (Rates are calculated by dividing the number of hospitalizations/deaths by the number of known cases.)
Green River District COVID-19 reports
| July 3 | July 13 | |
| Cases | 928 | 1,119 |
| Currently hospitalized | 5 | 16 |
| Ever hospitalized | 99 | 112 |
| Deaths | 12 | 12 |
| Recovered | 807 | 904 |
Horton warned that those rates could go up in the coming weeks, though, if new patients start to develop symptoms.
“It is positive that we haven’t seen more folks in the hospital, but the thing is your hospitalizations and deaths trail your case counts,” he said. “When your case counts go up you expect your hospitalizations to go up. Sometimes their condition worsens where they later need hospitalization.”
A couple of potentially worrisome figures came out in Monday’s report. Of the 52 cases announced, 26 were associated with a long-term care facility in Ohio County — with 16 residents and 10 employees testing positive.
That also contributed to a total of 24 cases in people age 60 or older — including 10 over age 70 and nine over age 80.
Prior to the small outbreak there, Horton said the uptick in cases was not specific to any age group, nor could it be traced to a single event or workplace.
“We are seeing cases in kids, teens, 20, working-age and older populations,” he said late last week. “Probably more spread out and more distributed now than it was any other time during the pandemic. Our immediate (average) age was in the 50s, but we saw that come down in the 40s with working-age folks getting sick. It’s really all over the place at this point.”
Horton added: “The cases we’re seeing are not associated with one big source. In April and May, we had a lot that were associated with the meatpacking industry. We don’t have anything like that with these. We’re seeing a number of cases where people have traveled — places like Myrtle Beach, Florida, Gulf Shores, Gatlinburg. People are traveling to states south of us. We’re seeing some small clusters from social interactions.”
Owensboro Health Regional Hospital officials confirmed last week they have reopened the COVID-19 unit to appropriately place patients who have tested positive for the virus but do not require admission to the Critical Care Unit.
“This provides the ultimate level of safety for all patients including those who have contracted the virus,” a statement from OH officials reads. “With the July 4 holiday and people in our area traveling, we have seen a slight uptick in cases which prompted us to reopen the unit. We are keeping a close watch on the number of positive patients for any increase in the trends of the virus. However to date, the percentage of positive patients to the total patients tested have been in a steady decline.”
The statement continues: “Therefore, it is worth repeating: we know wearing a mask, washing our hands regularly and continuing to exercise social distancing are proven to keep the virus from spreading. Be vigilant in doing these things and all of us will benefit as we get back to normal sooner rather than later.”
Horton acknowledged that the numbers both in Daviess County and the state pale in comparison to places like Arizona and Florida.
Arizona was recently reporting greater than 25% positivity rate in their daily update.
On Sunday, Florida reported more than 15,000 new cases, easily setting a daily record for any single state. However, their positivity rate was only 11.5% — a two-week low and a big drop from their record of 18% last Wednesday.
Horton said that’s why it’s important to take preventative measures to stop a surge before it gets out of hand.
“Right now, our positivity rate is staying in a healthy range,” Horton said. “We hope that continues. One of the keys to that is making sure people have the availability to get tested. We want people who suspect they have COVID to get tested. Once they know they are positive they can take steps to protect those around them.”
Much of the increase in cases locally can be directly linked to the increase in testing — both in terms of simply having more available as well as allowing those without symptoms to take a test. Contract tracing has also helped stunt the spread of the virus.
“We have found a fair number of folks who have had exposure, got tested, tested positive, weren’t experiencing symptoms at the time but during their isolation developed symptoms,” Horton said. “I kind of consider those to be success stories. They were able to identify they were infected and isolate probably before they were able to infect other people. We want that.”
Horton added the testing and case reporting aren’t done to scare people.
“When we report cases it’s not to create something that’s not there, it’s to say we have identified something happening in our community,” he said.
Horton said while everyone knows what safety measures have been recommended, they are worth repeating.
“They have to take measures to protect themselves and to protect their families,” he said. “We’re really trying to stress the three W’s — wear your mask, wash your hands and watch your distance, especially out in public.”
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