Lyon County Public Health is noting lower active case numbers of coronavirus this week, but staffers and others are still spending a lot of time investigating those cases.
Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern updated KVOE listeners on several aspects of the contact tracing process on the Newsmaker segment Friday. Public Health has just over 130 active cases, where patients are in isolation. Millbern says they get daily calls to update their status.
Under normal circumstances, Public Health has three disease investigations per week. Now it has over 700 people it’s investigating for COVID-19 with over 1,000 calls to patients or exposed residents per day. Public Health is getting help from the Kansas Army National Guard, both with calls and manning the drive-through test clinic, and a host of volunteers, public information officers and others helping the process.
Millbern also cleared up questions about what the term “recovered patient” means. Many people think the term means the patient is fully well. That might not be the case.
Millbern says Public Health has about two weeks’ worth of tests available, with up to 20 tests per day after that number had climbed to around 30 a day last month. Public Health has now opened its testing to anybody who has symptoms, but patients need to have that ordered by their physician first.
Millbern also says six people have volunteered to use the so-called non-congregate housing, either at Hampton Inn or La Quinta. She says that has been a consistent number since the temporary housing for patients needing quarantine or isolation outside of their home settings was established.
Lyon County Health Officer Renee Hively and Emergency Management Director Jarrod Fell will join KVOE’s Newsmaker segment at 7:15 am Monday with another update.
