Louisville's top health official warns of COVID-19 'wildfire'; Lexington posts record high

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville's top public health official on Tuesday compared the city's growing COVID-19 caseload to a "wildfire."

Citing an "alarming" spike in local cases, Dr. Sarah Moyer, along with Mayor Greg Fischer, warned residents they must do more to stop the spread of the highly contagious virus.

"We have a quickly spreading wildfire on our hands, and people seem oblivious to the flames," Moyer said, speaking at a news conference with Fischer on Facebook. "We need every person to use every resource they have to douse the flames."

Meanwhile, Lexington announced a record high of 116 new cases Monday, which was among 15 days in July when the city hit a new, one-day record total. Health officials there renewed their appeal for people to wear masks, avoid close contact with others and wash hands often.

"Please, please, please follow these guidelines to help protect others by slowing the spread of COVID-19," Kevin Hall, communications officer for the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, said in an email.

Moyer and Fischer offered similar advice Tuesday.

"Let's rise to this occasion so we can beat back this virus," Fischer said.

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Louisville announced 156 new cases Tuesday and a 7.3% rate of positive tests — above the 5% threshold public health authorities have recommended communities maintain in order to safely reopen businesses and events.

While not a record for Louisville, which has seen 200 or more cases on some days, it continues a high number of cases in July. In June, the city was reporting about 40 cases a day, Moyer said.

Louisville's highest daily number of new cases was 246 on July 24.

The state also has begun to post increasingly high numbers of COVID-19, reaching nearly 1,000 cases on July 19.

On Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear announced 532 new cases, which he said he hopes represent the beginning of a "plateau" since he issued a statewide order July 10 for most people to wear masks on public.

"We think we may already be seeing an impact of this," he said. "Wear that mask."

Beshear also announced 10 new deaths. The state's rate of positive cases was 5.58% on Monday but declined to 5.08% Tuesday.

And he said the measures he has ordered, including wearing masks in public and closing bars and cutting capacity at restaurants, will help in Jefferson County "depending on how people will comply with them."

As of Tuesday, 599,251 Kentuckians have been tested for the coronavirus. Beshear on Monday said that Kroger will no longer be conducting drive-thru coronavirus testing, but the grocery store chain announced Tuesday it will continue testing through the 46 Little Clinic locations in Kentucky, which it expects to allow for 5,000 tests a week. Appointments can be scheduled at thelittleclinic.com. 

Latest numbers:Beshear reports 532 new coronavirus cases, 10 deaths Tuesday

Louisville's numbers underscore the need for more aggressive action, such as avoiding crowded social settings, along with hand-washing and wearing masks, Moyer said.

"If we can't, we're going to see more people experience serious illness or death," Moyer said.

Louisville announced eight deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, but Fischer said that represented deaths over the past several days and not a one-day total.

Moyer and Fischer said they joined a call Monday with Dr. Deborah Birx, a top White House official with the federal COVID-19 response team. The call followed her visit to Kentucky on Sunday, when she met with Beshear, health officials and business executives.

Moyer said Birx repeated advice she gave to Beshear on Sunday: Close bars temporarily, cut back on indoor seating at restaurants and wear a mask in public.

"She just really emphasized how contagious this really is," Moyer said,

On Monday, Beshear — who had already issued an order on masks— announced he was ordering bars closed and restaurants to cut back to 25% capacity indoors for the next two weeks.

Fischer said he concurs with that advice. 

"The virus is starting to spread throughout Kentucky and in Louisville at a rate we have to stop," he said.

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Fischer and Moyer said they can't say whether the recent public protests are contributing to the rise in cases, but Fischer said he didn't think so, noting that other, larger cities did not see increases in cases of COVID-19 following protests. Still, people should take precautions.

"If you're protesting, please wear a mask," he said.

Fischer said people need to understand the need for actions such as temporarily closing bars.

"I wish we were not having to take these measures, but we have to," he said. "Otherwise there's going to be more suffering, more death."

And he urged people to support local restaurants while things are scaled back.

"Our restaurant scene is one of the best in the country," he said. "Please order takeout, and when you do, leave a big, fat tip."

Reach Deborah Yetter at dyetter@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4228. Find her on Twitter at @d_yetter. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.