Lexington health department no longer contacting positive COVID patients. What that means
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is no longer contacting people who test positive for COVID-19, health department officials said Monday.
The move comes as Lexington’s COVID-19 numbers have plummeted in recent weeks. The seven-day rolling average is now 28 cases. That’s a significant drop from late January when the city was reporting more than 1,000 cases in a single day.
Health department officials said that due to updated guidance, individual contact tracing is no longer needed. Instead, the department will focus on contract tracing in congregate settings – such as jails and nursing homes – or in at-risk populations.
The department had previously ceased contact tracing but was still calling or emailing those people who had a positive test, said Kala Adams, infectious disease and preparedness manager. The new guidelines indicate that is no longer necessary, health officials said.
But that also means employers who depend on health department documentation of an isolation order for employee absences need to make changes to those policies, health officials said. Those isolation or quarantine orders will no longer be issued by the health department.
Here’s what the health department says should be done instead:
- If you need proof of your positive test result as a requirement for your employer or school setting, you may obtain a copy of your test result from the provider that ordered the test or from the laboratory that performed the test. You may be asked to complete a medical record request in order to receive a copy of your results.
If you have tested positive for COVID-19 or have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, please follow the guidance provided by the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Please notify your close contacts so they may begin to quarantine if indicated. Please refer to guidance provided by the CDC as to what is classified as a close contact.
- If you have provided an email address to the provider that ordered the COVID-19 test or to the laboratory itself, and that email address is provided to the health department, you will receive an email survey.
- If you would like to complete a survey, you can email covidinterview@lfchd.org. You’ll need to provide a copy of your positive COVID-19 test result. If you obtained a positive COVID-19 test result from a home-performed test, the health department cannot accept that test result.
- For concerns or questions about COVID-19, you may still call the health department’s COVID-19 call center at 859-899-2222 or visit the health department’s website for additional resources and guidance at www.lfchd.org.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 7:01 AM.
