LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, joined by local health experts, addressed concerns about the omicron variant while providing an update on COVID-19 and flu cases in the River City on Dec. 7.
COVID-19 in Louisville
Although no cases of the omicron variant have been found in Louisville yet, Fischer urged residents to continue protecting themselves against the present delta variant.
"It's only a matter of time before the omicron variant arrives here," he said. "We need to be prepared."
Fischer said that case numbers are increasing at a "concerning rate." He said there were 2,211 new cases in the city over the previous week.
Louisville remains in the alert level red with an incident rate of 41, nearly double the incident rate of the previous week.
"The good news is we have powerful tools such as vaccines, booster shots for ages 18 and up and testing to fight against COVID-19," Fischer said.
Currently, 70.2% of Louisville residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 60.5% have completed the vaccine series.
"Unfortunately, we're close to 1,800 Louisvillians losing their life because of COVID, and everyone has been impacted by this tragedy," he said.
Over the previous week, there were 53 new deaths related to COVID-19.
And, as many Louisvillians would like COVID to be over, local health experts are urging residents to remain vigilant as more variants are on the way.
"If you were someone who stopped wearing your mask after you were vaccinated, now is the time to put that mask back on when you're in indoor crowded settings," Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Louisville Department of Public Health and Wellness, said.
Flu season ramping up
Many schools and businesses either closed or operated in limited capacity last year due to the pandemic, which resulted in a low number of flu cases.
Moyer said now that the city is returning to some normalcy, cases of the flu have already increased by over 400% in the last week.
“If you look at our mobility data, we are almost back up to pre-pandemic movement as more people are going out to the stores and work, which has increased in this last month,” she said.
Moyer encouraged residents to get their flu shots as hospitals continue to be at the red-capacity level.
"Anything you could do to help keep yourself and your loved ones out of our hospitals right now is really important," she said. "You don’t want to be infected with both the flu and COVID.”
At home COVID tests
Fischer also announced that more than 300,000 free "Say Yes! Covid Test" home kits have been distributed.
Residents can visit any of the 40 locations to pick up four test kits while supplies last.
However, he said the home tests don't replace workplace, travel or school testing policies.
To find a location near you to pick up the free kits, visit their website or call the Louisville Health COVID Helpline at 502-912-8598.
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