Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear ordered all freestanding bars in the state to close as of Tuesday, July 27 at 5 pm. Additionally, restaurants in the Bluegrass state must reduce indoor dining to just 25 percent of the restaurant’s standard capacity. Restaurants are allowed to continue full capacity outdoor dining. Additionally, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services has issued a new order restricting private social gatherings to 10 or fewer people. The restrictions do not apply to weddings, restaurants, retail, or other public venues.
Across the river in Ohio, Scioto County’s COVID-19 count increased by 18 since Friday. That brings the total number of cases to 138 with 48 active cases in the county. Ninety of those 138 people have recovered.
Outbreak Linked to Church
Some recent Scioto County cases are linked to a Lucasville Church and its vacation Bible school. Yesterday, Scioto EMA Director Larry Mullins issued an urgent plea that who attended any event at the Lucasville Church of God is self-quarantine immediately. He contacted the media late Saturday afternoon and asked us to get this information out as soon as possible.
We were the first to tell you the Lucasville Church of God was temporarily closed due to issues related to COVID-19. He said. “The Scioto County Health Department reported that there have been several cases of COVID-19 associated with the Lucasville Church of God.” The church is located on Morris Lane in Lucasville.
Red Alert
The recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the county led the Governor to declare Scioto County in Red Alert health status. In just one month, the number of cases increased from 33 to 138. Factors involved in declaring a red alert include:
- Number of new cases based on the population of the county
- A sustained increase in cases
- Cases not coming from high-risk settings like nursing homes or jails
- Increase in ER visits for COVID symptoms
- Sustained Increase in Outpatient visits for COVID symptoms
- Increase in new COVID hospital admissions
- ICU occupancy rate goes above 80% for three days
In our region, Lawrence and Scioto are currently at Red Alert status.