KRDHD suspends calling positive COVID-19 cases

PERRY COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - Staff at the Kentucky River District Health Department will no longer call positive COVID-19 cases.

Public Health Director Scott Lockard said because of the increased volume in COVID-19 cases, the health department has changed its strategy on how it is responding to cases.

“No longer expect a call from the health department, we have so many cases right now that our team is completely overwhelmed,” he said. “We are really trying to enter the data and get all information that the State Department for Public Health and the CDC needs to do the tracking of the virus in our region.”

Officials said the clinic performing the test will tell the patient if they are positive or negative. The call from the health department is to give Isolation and Quarantine guidance. Patients are still notified of their test result by the provider.

Lockard said you can call the Lee County Health Department if you have questions at 606-464-2492.

“So, don’t wait for a phone call from us because with the sheer volume of cases we’re seeing right now we can only call a fraction of those,” he said. “So, we’ve actually suspended calling positive cases and we’re just serving as a resource and doing all the data collection.”

You can also go to KRDHD’s Facebook page for other resources.

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