City Of Louisville: Louisville Leaders Reflect On Pandemic Response Two Years After City First Confirmed COVID-19 Case

Press release from the City of Louisville:

March 08, 2022

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Mayor Greg Fischer today was joined by Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW); Dr. SarahBeth Hartlage, associate medical director of LMPHW; Delanor Manson, CEO of the Kentucky Nurses Association; and Amos Izerimana, program manager of the Louisville Metro Office for Globalization, to provide an update on COVID-19 and reflect on the city’s pandemic response on the second anniversary of announcing the first confirmed case in Louisville.

Mayor Greg Fischer today was joined by Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW); Dr. SarahBeth Hartlage, associate medical director of LMPHW; Delanor Manson, CEO of the Kentucky Nurses Association; and Amos Izerimana, program manager of the Louisville Metro Office for Globalization, to provide an update on COVID-19 and reflect on the city’s pandemic response on the second anniversary of announcing the first confirmed case in Louisville.

“At the beginning, COVID-19 was just a threat we watched unfold through images of empty streets, video of packed hospitals and voices of concern from those living in affected communities,” the Mayor said. “But quickly that threat became reality when we announced Louisville’s first case March 8, 2020.”

“At the beginning, COVID-19 was just a threat we watched unfold through images of empty streets, video of packed hospitals and voices of concern from those living in affected communities,” the Mayor said. “But quickly that threat became reality when we announced Louisville’s first case March 8, 2020.”

Mayor Fischer said the city was fortunate to have a team of top-notch public health professionals already in place who had been through tough challenges before, such as the response to the Hepatitis A outbreak -- in which they had earned a “gold standard” approval from the CDC.

Mayor Fischer said the city was fortunate to have a team of top-notch public health professionals already in place who had been through tough challenges before, such as the response to the Hepatitis A outbreak -- in which they had earned a “gold standard” approval from the CDC.

“I think we were ready as any community could be in the face of a lot of unknowns. One case became many cases,” he said. “Weeks after that, we marked the first loss of life in our community and the first of over 2,000 people that died from the virus in our city.”  

“I think we were ready as any community could be in the face of a lot of unknowns. One case became many cases,” he said. “Weeks after that, we marked the first loss of life in our community and the first of over 2,000 people that died from the virus in our city.”  

On top of trying to cope with the pain of so much loss, the Mayor recognized the fear and stress Louisvillans felt, especially health care workers who experienced extreme exhaustion. 

On top of trying to cope with the pain of so much loss, the Mayor recognized the fear and stress Louisvillans felt, especially health care workers who experienced extreme exhaustion. 

“But the silver lining is that the pandemic also created amazing cooperation and compassion amongst us like we’ve never seen before,” he said.

“But the silver lining is that the pandemic also created amazing cooperation and compassion amongst us like we’ve never seen before,” he said.

 Louisville saw health care systems set aside their natural rivalry and work together. From the beginning, the city focused on education and partnerships with health equity at top of mind.

 Louisville saw health care systems set aside their natural rivalry and work together. From the beginning, the city focused on education and partnerships with health equity at top of mind.

 “I think the big thing that we learned is that when we come together as a community we can achieve health equity,” Dr. Moyer said. “I’m hopeful that we will continue to tackle so many other public health issues that we have in our community.”

 “I think the big thing that we learned is that when we come together as a community we can achieve health equity,” Dr. Moyer said. “I’m hopeful that we will continue to tackle so many other public health issues that we have in our community.”

COVID-19 also reminded everyone of the importance of communication. The city and community partners provided education materials in many different languages and translators to make sure vital messages made it to non-English speaking communities.

COVID-19 also reminded everyone of the importance of communication. The city and community partners provided education materials in many different languages and translators to make sure vital messages made it to non-English speaking communities.

 “At the onset, we translated a lot of the information that we were receiving from the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health & Wellness into 26 languages,” Izerimana said. “However, we saw that translating information was not enough. We had to be creative in reaching various social media groups and sites where many of these communities convene.”

 “At the onset, we translated a lot of the information that we were receiving from the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health & Wellness into 26 languages,” Izerimana said. “However, we saw that translating information was not enough. We had to be creative in reaching various social media groups and sites where many of these communities convene.”

 After the city’s first case was announced, testing became available in the following weeks. Then, in less than a year, COVID-19 vaccines were made available.

 After the city’s first case was announced, testing became available in the following weeks. Then, in less than a year, COVID-19 vaccines were made available.

 The Kentucky Nurses Association (KNA) played an essential role in operating both testing and vaccine sites, even amid a national nursing shortage. At community clinics, KNA has helped administer more than 17,000 tests and vaccinations.

 The Kentucky Nurses Association (KNA) played an essential role in operating both testing and vaccine sites, even amid a national nursing shortage. At community clinics, KNA has helped administer more than 17,000 tests and vaccinations.

 “We had nurses that came out of retirement to help us at the clinics. We had people that went to work and worked more than a 12-hour shift because they knew the community needed them,” Manson said.

Organizations like KNA helped make LouVax possible, the largest indoor mass drive-thru vaccination site in the Commonwealth. More than 3,000 volunteers assisted at the site, located in Broadbent Arena, and more than 100,000 vaccines were administered at the location. As vaccinations became more widely available, LouVax then went mobile and brought tests and vaccines to communities throughout Jefferson County.

 “It was a monumental undertaking,” Dr. Hartlage said. “But the big takeaway from me is that we were able to see what talented people can do when they are empowered to do good work.”

 Dr. Hartlage acknowledged that we have made a lot of progress over the past two years but reminded everyone that we are still learning about the virus that continues to impact lives.

 “Even if the case counts are small, people are still being hospitalized, still having long-term effects and dying due to complications from the virus,” Dr. Hartlage said. “There are no other variants of concern at this point; however, until we achieve global vaccine equity, we are likely to see additional variants develop.”

 Currently, Jefferson County is considered in the medium COVID-19 community level category.

At the level “medium,” the CDC recommends to:

 Louisville Metro has updated its COVID-19 data dashboard to reflect new CDC guidance.

Here are the key COVID-19 data metrics for March 8, 2022:

Here are the key COVID-19 data metrics for March 8, 2022:

 Hospitalization data:

Hospitalization data:

Vaccines:

Vaccines:

View this week’s COVID-19 briefing with public health officials here.

# # #

The city’s COVID-19 data dashboard, a complete list of COVID-19 testing sites, vaccine information, prevention and more can be found at www.louisvilleky.gov/covid19. The LOU HEALTH COVID19 Helpline is also available: 502-912-8598.

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This press release was produced by the City of Louisville. The views expressed here are the author’s own.