Health dept. urges vaccinations as Whitley County goes into COVID-19 red zone

WHITLEY COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in parts of southern Kentucky.

Whitley County is back in the ‘red zone.’

Local health leaders say Whitley County is in the red, which means there are at least 25 cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days. The county is one of only a handful of counties in the red zone. Nearby Clay County is also in the red.

The local health department reported 52 new cases last week, and 11 were backlogged from the previous week.

They say cases increased more than 61 percent from July 10 through July 16.

Some people are concerned about it, while others are not.

“I think it’s a little bit overinflated,” said Kevin Prince at City Barber Shop. “I know that Covid is still out there and it’s real. But I don’t think we are anywhere near back in a critical area.”

“They thought they pretty much had it under control. But it’s coming back,” said John Leger, of Corbin. “My wife and I are both in real bad health. We both got the Covid shots as soon as we could.”

The workers inside City Barber Shop tell us they are more concerned about more local mandates and restrictions hurting their business than the virus itself.

The good news is that hospitalizations are not on the increase. The health department reported just two in the hospital last week and the medical director of Baptist Health Corbin says they are seeing younger and less severe cases.

However, Dr. David Worthy says it is concerning that few people are getting vaccinated. Whitley County is one of the highest in vaccine hesitancy.

Besides Whitley and Clay, Lewis and Washington counties are also in the red.

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