Louisville nutritionists reported a record-breaking week for COVID-19 cases.
Last week, there were 3,592 new cases in Louisville. Mayor Greg Fischer said spread within the city is deep at a negative balance zone. The city's current rate of nearly 67 cases per 100,000 people is well above the red zone threshold of 25 cases per 100,000 people.
“The reality is that COVID-19 is spreading widely,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “It's unmanageable within the city right now. And we won't get it in check simply by ignoring it or wishing it would disappear or waiting for it to go away.”
More than 30 Louisvillians died from COVID-19 a week ago. Louisville Chief Health Strategist Dr. Sarah Moyer said communities of color continue to experience the highest rates of infection and death, especially in younger age ranges.
Moyer said Louisville continues to break records, though they are not “records of feat,” and said every aspect from the city is in the red.
“Even if you might live outside Louisville and don't reside in a zipcode that's dark red yet, you probably communicate with people every day who do,” she said.
In the final two weeks, more than 1,500 close contacts of people infected with COVID-19 have been infected with the condition. More than half of those cases involved partners or people who live together, while nearly 80% caught it from the member of the family.
Despite those record-breaking levels of COVID-19, researchers from the University of Louisville's Co-Immunity Project said numbers might be even higher. Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar and Dr. Rachel Keith joined Fischer's briefing to talk about the newest is a result of their ongoing study of COVID-19 spread within the city
Between September and November, the research showed infection rates jumped to 2% from 0.2%, a tenfold increase. That figure completes to at least one in 50 Louisville residents, or around 13,000 people.
Bhatnagar said the actual number of COVID-19 cases might be up to five times higher than what is becoming reported.
“From the data that we gather from people who come forth and obtain tested, that is representative of just the tip from the iceberg,” he said. “If you look in the community generally, the rates of infection are much higher.”
The highest rates of infection were found in the northeast section of Jefferson County and the Shively area.
Moyer said 374 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 99 are in the ICU, and 60 are on ventilators.
