The Grayson County Health Department (GCHD) director is warning that the county is “experiencing an upswing in (coronavirus) cases at this time.”
GCHD Director Josh Embry said in a statement on the department’s Facebook page that “… we have seen numbers (positive cases) increase quickly in the county over the past few days.”
In the department’s last update on Tuesday, health officials reported 15 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed between Friday and Monday night. Currently, the county has had 453 cases of the virus diagnosed since the onset of the pandemic, with 26 cases confirmed between October 2 and October 13.
As K105 has previously reported, Grayson County’s status is currently “yellow,” indicating “community spread” of coronavirus. The county, though, is surrounded by counties deemed in the “red,” which indicates a “critical” spread of the virus within the county, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
As of Wednesday, bordering counties in the “red” include Ohio and Hart counties, as well as nearby Muhlenberg, McLean, Hopkins, Logan, Todd, Christian, Webster, Union, Henderson, and Caldwell.
Currently, a record 31 of Kentucky’s 120 counties are in the “red,” including seven of the 16 counties that border Tennessee. Fulton County, in far western Kentucky, leads the state in rate of occurrence over the last week with 57.4 cases per 100,000 population. Knox County, in far southeastern Kentucky, is experiencing the second highest rate of occurrence at 51.8 cases per 100,000.
Embry, in his statement, warned that, “Based on current data, we will see our color edge closer to ‘orange/red’ status (“orange” status indicates “accelerated” spread of the virus within the county).
Grayson County Schools announced earlier this week that three students and one staff member have tested positive over the last several days, as students and staff returned from Fall Break. As of Wednesday, 32 students and two staff members were quarantined.
Embry said his department will provide information on Friday regarding Grayson County’s COVID-19 numbers since Tuesday.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
