Local officials are urging the public to remain calm after the first case of COVID-19 in Daviess County was announced Thursday morning.
The announcement came from Green River District Health Department Public Health Director Clay Horton during a joint press conference.
Horton said a 51-year-old man from Daviess County and a 63-year-old woman from Henderson County had both tested positive. Both patients are doing well and are self-isolated in their homes, Horton said.
“While these are the first cases that we have reported, we were expecting this,” Horton said. “We’re not surprised by this, and we’re prepared to respond.”
The Health Department’s epidemiologists and support team are currently conducting contact investigations and assessing levels of risk and advising further actions.
“The thing the public needs to remember is that this was expected,” Horton said. “It’s going to be okay. We are prepared, but everybody has to do their part. While we don’t want anyone to panic, they have to take it seriously.”
Owensboro Health vice president of medical affairs Michael Kelley said neither patient had been tested at the hospital, which has so far still not treated anyone who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
“This is a case that was tested in the community by a community physician,” Kelley said. “This was not a case that was tested through any of Owensboro Health’s capacities.”
Kelley urged the public to remember that more than 80 percent of people who get the coronavirus will never need hospitalization.
Both Horton and Kelly — along with Daviess County Judge-Executive Al Mattingly, Owensboro Mayor Tom Watson, City Manager Nate Pagan and Emergency Management Agency Director Andy Ball — implored everyone to maintain social distancing and follow health guidelines.
All of them reinforced their sentiments from the past week — remain calm, know that the local agencies are prepared, and watch out for one another.
“This is not a time for us to panic,” Mattingly said. “We’ve gone through a lot of things in the past. This may be a time for us to stand up and show that this generation has some greatness within it as well.”
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The Owensboro Health coronavirus hotline is available 24/7 by calling 877-888-6647. Call the hotline before seeking in-person care. More information from OH can be found here.
For the latest information and data on COVID-19 in Kentucky visit kycovid19.ky.gov or dial the Kentucky state hotline at 800-722-5725.
For the latest health guidelines and resources from the CDC, visit their website here.
