VERSAILLES, Ky. (LEX 18) — The post-Christmas surge in the COVID-19 positivity rate is doing exactly what we were told it would do, at least in Woodford County.
“This is the most number of cases we’ve had over a ten-day stretch since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Cassie Prather, the county’s public health director.
Prather said the 250 cases they know of now are just that; just the cases they know of now.
“There are far more cases out there that we don’t know about,” Prather speculated, but with history on her side.
Prather said the only way to bring this thing to an end is for everyone to get vaccinated and boosted. Even with the Omicron Variant breaking through in so many instances, the vaccine still offers the kind of protection that will keep you from being hospitalized or worse.
Should the COVID numbers continue to rise, Prather has concerns for the county's health care workers. Her department is trying something new in the form of a questionnaire as it relates to early quarantine or isolation release.
“Essentially, it’s a flow chart,” she said of the questionnaire. “Once you enter your information it’ll give you a result. Do you need to continue quarantine or isolation, or are you in the clear,” she explained.
The county did this because of the backlog of tests it is processing in addition to the surge in positive cases. So if someone needs or wants a quick answer the online form will be useful.
Prather said that Omicron is highly transmissible, as we’ve learned, and that because it presents with minor symptoms in those who’ve been vaccinated, many who contract that variant, aren’t feeling the need to stay at home.
“I think it’s six of one, half dozen of the other,” Prather said when asked if the easy transmission or lack of symptoms are helping to cause the surge in cases.
*If you’d like to access the Woodford County early release isolation/quarantine questionnaire, click here.
