OWENSBORO, Ky. — Tuesday, July 20, 2021, the Green River District Health Department reported 142 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases with 70 in Daviess County, six in Hancock County, 26 in Henderson County, three in McLean County, 13 in Ohio County, eight in Union County and 16 in Webster County.
The current seven-day average for new cases in the seven-county district is 34.9 new cases a day. That’s an 11.4% increase since Friday’s report in the district and an increase of 25.2% since the July 6 report. The newly reported cases were investigated between July 16-July 19.
- There have been 23,088 reported COVID-19 cases in the district to date.
- The district-wide total of recovered cases is now 20,656 (89%).
- Six reported confirmed cases are currently hospitalized, including one Ohio Countian.
- 931 (4%) have required hospitalization.
- There have been 412 COVID-19 related deaths in the district.
- The state of Kentucky is currently reporting 470,680 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 7,301 statewide deaths.
“Unfortunately we are seeing a substantial rise in our incidence of new COVID-19 cases,” said Clay Horton, GRDHD Public Health Director. “The best way to protect yourself and those you love is to get vaccinated against COVID-19. If you are not yet fully vaccinated, at higher-risk, or work in a high traffic public job like retail or dining, continue to wear a mask when in indoor public spaces. If you are not vaccinated yet, get vaccinated immediately!”
Ohio County added 13 new confirmed COVID-19 cases since Friday’s report. Today’s 13 new cases is the highest number of new cases for Ohio County since the GRDHD started issuing its COVID-19 updates every Tuesday and Friday. Today’s 142 new cases is also the highest for the Green River District since updates began being issued every Tuesday and Friday.
Ohio County has had a total of 2,607 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Currently, one Ohio Countian has been hospitalized due to COVID-19 related compliations. Since the start of the pandemic, 56 Ohio Countians have died due to COVID-19 related complications.
Monday, Governor Andy Beshear provided an update to the commonwealth on the COVID-19 delta variant. In his update, Gov. Beshear and Dr. Steven Stack, the commissioner of the Department for Public Health, encouraged Kentuckians who haven’t been vaccinated to get vaccinated.
“We have the most aggressive variant that we have seen to date in our battle against COVID. It’s a serious, even deadly, threat to unvaccinated Kentuckians,” said Gov. Beshear. “If more adults don’t get vaccinated, it’s not just adults who pay the price. It’s our kids who will. Many of them can’t get vaccinated yet, and they count on us to make good decisions and do the right thing.”
Unvaccinated Kentuckians and Kentuckians in jobs requiring consistent contact with the public were encouraged to take additional precautions, including:
- All unvaccinated Kentuckians should wear masks indoors when not in their home;
- Kentuckians at higher risk from COVID-19 due to pre-existing conditions should wear masks indoors when not in their home;
- Vaccinated Kentuckians in jobs with significant public exposure should consider wearing a mask at work; and
- All unvaccinated Kentuckians, when eligible, should be vaccinated immediately.
Ohio County’s percentage of vaccinations is 30.73%. Ohio County remains at the bottom of the seven-county Green River District when it comes to vaccinations with only Union County ranking lower. Ohio County also ranks near the bottom of the state in vaccinations.
With the new Delta variant of COVID-19 becoming more prevalent, those who haven’t gotten vaccinated, or only received one of a two-shot vaccination, should strongly reconsider.
GRDHD COVID-19 Vaccine & Testing Availability
All persons age 12 or older are eligible for Pfizer and all persons age 18 and older are eligible for Moderna. Visit healthdepartment.org or call your local county health department to be placed on our scheduling list.
CDC recommends that anyone with any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 get tested, regardless of vaccination status or prior infection. If you get tested because you have symptoms or were potentially exposed to the virus, you should stay away from others pending test results and follow the advice of your healthcare provider or a public health professional. Green River District Health
Department is offering free COVID-19 testing. To schedule an appointment visit the GRDHD website, healthdepartment.org, and follow the COVID-19 Test prompts or call your local county health department. You must be pre-registered to be tested.
Kentucky residents can visit vaccine.ky.gov to find a vaccine location and sign-up for update notifications. Additional COVID-19 vaccine information can be found at vaccines.gov.
Retail pharmacies and health centers are also providing COVID-19 vaccinations.
Kentucky COVID-19 vaccine dashboard and information: https://govstatus.egov.com/ky-covid-vaccine.
Kentucky COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline: 800-722-5725 can answer general COVID-19 vaccine questions.
Owensboro Health – You can make a new COVID-19 vaccination appointment online at owensborohealth.org/vaccine or by calling central scheduling at 270-685-7100.
Deaconess in Henderson County and Union County – COVID-19 vaccine information can be found at https://www.deaconess.com/Coronavirus/COVID-19-Vaccine.
Ohio County Healthcare – To schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment visit https://ochcares.com/COVID or call 270-215-9082 Monday through Friday from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.
Choosing Safer Activities
- If you are fully vaccinated you can start doing many things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.
- When choosing safer activities, consider how COVID-19 is spreading in your community, the number of people participating in the activity, and the location of the activity.
- Outdoor visits and activities are safer than indoor activities, and fully vaccinated people can safely participate in some indoor events without much risk.
- Unvaccinated, not fully vaccinated, and immunocompromised individuals should continue to take all the same precautions like wearing a mask and socially distancing as they have been.
- Masks are still required for all individuals in health care facilities, confinement facilities, nursing homes, schools, and public transportation.
- If you are fully vaccinated you have a strong level of protection against COVID-19.
- The supply of vaccines is plentiful in our communities. If you have not been vaccinated yet, you are strongly encouraged to do so as soon as possible! Kentucky residents can visit vaccine.ky.gov to find the most convenient vaccination location.
Demographics
The cases being reported from the Green River District Health Department are being investigated and confirmed locally. These cases are then reported to the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
Average Age: 43
Age Range: 1 month to 102 years old
Male: 46.8%
Female: 53.2%
Additional COVID-19 Guidance
A person is considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine. If you don’t meet these requirements, regardless of your age, you are NOT fully vaccinated. Keep taking all precautions until you are fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business, and workplace guidance. Fully vaccinated people can refrain from testing following a known exposure unless they are residents or employees of a correctional or detention facility or a homeless shelter. For additional guidance go to https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html.
If you are sick, experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, including but not limited to a fever, cough, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or feel you have a medical emergency, call your health care provider. Adults over 60 and people who have severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease seem to be at higher risk for more serious COVID-19 illness. Those individuals should be extra vigilant and stay home.
To help answer the community’s questions about COVID-19, the Kentucky Department for Public health has set up a website with the latest guidance and information for Kentucky residents – www.kycovid19.ky.gov. The public can also call the Kentucky COVID-19 hotline at 800-722-5725.