Lexington doctor speaks on potential COVID impact during holiday weekend

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - There are lots of travelers for the Labor Day holiday, leading some officials to be concerned with a potential COVID spike.

“I think it’s possible that COVID numbers will go higher,” said Dr. Jeff Foxx, a Lexington family physician. “We don’t know that for certain - a lot of people have been affected, a lot of people have been vaccinated, so we have better immunity this time around than we had last time.”

Dr. Foxx is one of many health officials warning people across the country about the potential for a COVID case spike in the wake of the holiday weekend.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, 14 million Americans will fly to different destinations for Labor Day, as many are traveling to celebrate with friends and family. The potential for big gatherings, leading to the spread of the virus, has doctors concerned about the looming COVID-19 impact.

“Because people are going indoors, because people are at large gatherings because people aren’t paying as much attention to prevention, we may well see an increase,” said Dr. Foxx.

One way Dr. Foxx suggests combating COVID concerns while traveling for the long weekend is wearing masks when in high-risk situations, an approach that many Kentuckians were hoping to avoid.

“I think we forget that COVID killed millions, literally millions of people,” said Dr. Foxx. “That’s the concern, you know? We do have a little bump - we don’t have anything like we have had. And if we stay like this, yeah, it’s a nuisance... it’s an annoyance. And you need to do things now, before it gets way out ahead of you.”

Leading into the holiday weekend, COVID cases were already on the rise across the country. Now, as many families are enjoying Labor Day festivities, the CDC is encouraging people to take not only active measures for those starting symptoms, but also preventative measures.

Dr Foxx says that while numbers are climbing, there is no immediate cause for concern.

“If you do those things; wash your hands, cover when you cough, wear a mask if you need to, make sure your vaccines are up to date, get tested if you need to, get treated if you’ve got it,” said Dr. Foxx. “I think while we may see an increase, we won’t see as much as what we saw in prior years.”

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