A media Zoom meeting was held on April 15, 2020 for media partners and community of the Lake Cumberland District Health Department

A list of questions was presented to the LCDHD staff by the media. Those questions, and the answers given, are provided in the following article for the readers of the Clinton County News.

The media updates are presented weekly and the Clinton County News will continue to participate in those briefings so we can better keep our readers informed

The LCDHD panel consisted of:

Shawn Crabtree, Executive Director

Dr. Christine Weyman, Medical Director

Stuart Spillman, Environmental Health Director

Laura Woodrum, Director of Nursing

Tracy Aaron, Health Education Director – moderator

Dr. Weyman

? Is there any approximation on when generalized testing will be available? Particularly IgM and IgG antibodies as well as rapid screens?

These tests are slowly becoming available, and can be useful for detecting present or past infection, but currently they are not very accurate with many false negatives and positives. They may be useful in certain circumstances but the PCR test is going to continue to be the definitive test.

? I saw on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website that they have one confirmed case at the prison in Pine Knot, that being an inmate. Would any cases confirmed at the prison in McCreary County be included in the local county number? Does the health department have contact with the prison on the isolation of anyone that tests positive there?

Yes, we are aware of the cases in the Federal Prison and we do count them in our totals. We do contact investigations on staff who are positive and quarantine their contacts, however the prison does contact tracing on inmates.

? What criteria leads you to “believe COVID-19 to be widespread”, “regardless of the confirmed case count for any Lake Cumberland County”?

In countries where testing is more widespread, it has been found that 25% of those tested were asymptomatic. We know that confirmed cases are the tip of the iceberg so expect many undocumented cases in the community. In one long term care facility where everyone was tested, 40% of the residents who tested positive are presently showing no symptoms.

Shawn

? Do you have a timeline of when the virus will peak in this area?

That is anyone’s guess. If you look at that state tracking trends, Kentucky is leveling out.

Last week, the number of cumulative known cases was doubling between every 3 and 4 days. As of today, it is doubling about every 8 days. Lake Cumberland’s trends are tracking very similarly to the state’s trend. Several models are predicting the peak to be in the next two to three weeks.