White House task force urges testing of people without symptoms; Beshear says he will just keep encouraging them to do that

White House Coronavirus Task Force table; for a larger version, click on it.

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

This week's White House Coronavirus Task Force report again used strong language to implore states to follow its recommendations, noting that the current surge of cases is reaching "every corner of the U.S." and is "the most rapid increase in cases; the widest spread of intense transmission, with more than 2,000 counties in Covid red zones; and the longest duration of rapid increase, now entering its eighth week."  

The report adds, "Mitigation efforts must increase, including the implementation of key state and local policies with an additional focus on uniform behavioral change including masking, physical distancing, hand hygiene, no indoor gatherings outside of immediate households, and aggressive testing to find the asymptomatic individuals responsible for the majority of infectious spread." 

Asked what plan he has to aggressively test asymptomatic people, Beshear said the state can't force them to get tested, but can encourage them, especially those who regularly interact with the public. 

"And based on what we're seeing in the total numbers versus the positivity rate, we know a significant number of asymptomatic people are getting tested at any given point," he said.

Months ago, Beshear dismissed a proposal by the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky that the state do random-sample testing like U of L is doing to get a better picture of the virus's spread.

The White House report again has Kentucky in the most dangerous zone for number of cases and the share of people who tested positive between Nov. 28 and Dec. 4, ranking the state 22nd highest for cases and 17th highest for the percentage of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the week.

It says 70% of the state's 120 counties have high levels of community transmission and 97% have moderate or high levels of community transmission. The number of counties in the White House red zone increased by three from the previous week, to 84; the orange zone rose by two, to 21; and the yellow zone decreased by four, to 11.  

The report says Kentucky had 502 new cases per 100,000 people, up from 437 per 100,000 in the last report, which was likely low because it includes Thanksgiving holidays. The national average is 385 per 100,000. 

The report calls "on all Kentuckians to use their unbridled spirit to combat the pandemic," noting that the "spread is unyielding and impacting all ages across the state."

White House Coronavirus Task Force maps; for a larger version, click on the image.