Not surprisingly, Lyon County health officials expressed concern about Monday’s coronavirus data set.
Comments from Lyon County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern and Public Health Medical Support Manager Melissa Smith on Tuesday followed Monday’s announcement of 24 new cases, an active caseload approaching 100 and a new cluster designation for bars or restaurants. Smith says community spread is becoming more prevalent with each passing week.
Those comments also come with Emporia State and Flint Hills Technical College fully into their fall semesters along with nearly half the area’s school districts, with the rest tentatively set to begin over the next week. Millbern is part of an advisory group for Emporia Public Schools on gating criteria. She says the current trends make it difficult for athletics or large-scale extracurricular activities to move forward at this time.
Public Health is now testing up to 20 people per day. Smith says contact tracing is getting more difficult because people are out more in the summer and frustration is building in the community, meaning people may be less willing to answer calls or go into quarantine. Millbern says Public Health is looking for contact tracers to replace workers that have moved on.
