Lyon County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern says COVID-19 transmission is happening at a higher level than local health officials want to see.
On KVOE’s Newsmaker segment Thursday, Millbern said transmission rates are around 20 percent, well above the roughly 2-5 percent where they were in May and June. Also increasing rapidly: close contacts — to the point where Public Health can’t do additional disease investigations because the current staff is maxed out.
This resembles a similar decision last year, but KDHE’s involvement last year came with the state’s emergency declaration ongoing — so Lyon County could utilize the National Guard in a support role. That declaration expired earlier this summer, so the National Guard is not available. KDHE says its ramping up its staff to help Lyon County and other counties needing help.
WIth new cases increasing by 25 to 40 a day for much of August, active cases at or above 130, Newman Regional Health having issues transferring COVID and other patients elsewhere and the increase in transmission rates, Millbern says it’s time to start tightening mitigation measures at the business or event level, but not yet as a countywide mandate. She urged people who disagree with that assessment to stay calm, adding Public Health staff have been dealing with increasingly irate and occasionally belligerent callers with the recent surge in the delta variant showing no signs of slowing down. She also urged cooperation, saying it’s time to take a wider view of the pandemic than at just the individual level.
Millbern says vocal opponents to mitigation strategies are likely the minority, but the challenge to COVID policies is disheartening as the spike in cases continues.
