COVID-19 cases, deaths rise in county

Spread Hope Instead aims to inspire good decisions as county sees spike

EDITOR'S NOTE: Updated numbers for new cases, as of Dec. 9 at noon are 146, and 7 deaths.

Muhlenberg County Health Department has announced 120 new cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of December, as the pandemic continues to spread throughout the community. In the first week of this month, the county has seen five deaths from the virus.

Health department official Alma Fink said the rise in new cases is due to several factors. “We’ve seen several long term care facilities have outbreaks, which includes patients, residents and caregivers alike.” They have also seen the virus run through households, as several members of a family all test positive over the course of a few weeks.

“It’s very widespread in the community. Stay home, and avoid large gatherings,” Fink said.

In an effort to encourage countians to follow guidelines issued by state and federal agencies, a campaign on social media has been getting attention with the hashtag #MaskUpMuhlenberg. Posts feature people from around the county, wearing a mask and telling why they choose to mask up.

Campaign lead Jamie Wells said local friends and neighbors are sharing why they wear a mask, and who they wear a mask for, including people in their lives who are at high risk for complications due to COVID-19. Yellow ribbons are also being hung at businesses and homes.

“Yellow is a color of hope, and reminds us that better days are coming,” Wells said. She said the campaign, called Spread Hope Instead, looks to inspire people to make good decisions that will help slow the spread of the coronavirus, and spread hope instead.

Members of the 4-H Teen Club spent last week delivering posters and yellow ribbons to businesses around Muhlenberg County. McKenzie Pogue, county 4-H agent, said this was a perfect opportunity for these teens to fulfill their desire to help in the community.

“I know they are eager to serve, and this was a hard year to be civically engaged,” Pogue said. The Greater Muhlenberg Chamber of Commerce approached them for help, and the teens were the perfect candidates. They delivered 125 yellow “hope bows” to businesses.

Sunday marked the day Kentucky surpassed 200,000 cases of COVID-19, nine months to the day from when the first case was reported in the state. Half of these cases were found in the last month and a half. Kentucky also surpassed 2,000 deaths from the virus last week.

“While this is our highest week ever, the rate of growth does appear to be slowing,” said Governor Andy Beshear. “In other words, our increase from the last couple of weeks is less than what we have been seeing. Certainly, our hope is that we are slowing down this train and are moving at least to a new plateau.”

Beshear said he will be watching in the coming week for a surge related to Thanksgiving holiday gatherings. He said he hopes people will work hard toward following guidelines to minimize the spread of COVID-19, such as wearing a mask and social distancing.

As of Sunday, there are 1,673 Kentuckians in the hospital with COVID-19, 401 in intensive care units and 214 on ventilators. These numbers represent a slight improvement, as new cases appear to be flattening.