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STANFORD – There have been 22 Lincoln County deaths reported to the state for COVID-19 review in the last 53 days, according to Lincoln County Health Department (LCHD) Director Diane Miller.

Miller said nine deaths were being sent to the state for review this week and 22 deaths total have been reported in the last 53 days. The youngest of those individuals was 32 years old, she said.

“Between 32 years of age and up,” Miller said.

A total of 74 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported in Lincoln County since the start of the pandemic.

As of Monday morning there were 279 active cases of COVID-19 reported in Lincoln County and there were 30 household contacts to those cases being monitored by the LCHD.

The LCHD has reported a total of 3,972 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the outbreak, Miller said.

“It’s going to be around for a while,” she said. “Like always, we need to continue to do what we need to do to protect not only ourselves but our loved ones and others around us.”

That means wearing a mask in public, practicing good hygiene like regular hand-washing, and practicing social distancing.

“I know there’s a lot of controversy about the masks and the vaccines but however, I’m continuing to encourage individuals to wear masks,” she said. “Here’s a good example, last flu season we didn’t have any cases because people were wearing masks. Thus far I’ve already had one flu reported case.”

Miller said with flu season around the corner, she is now encouraging the public to get a flu shot, as well as the COVID-19 vaccine.

The LCHD is currently offering the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

“That’s what I have in inventory,” she said.

Miller said she is waiting to see how many individuals request the Johnson & Johnson vaccine before ordering more.

“We are still a red county and we still have much work to do in order to bring our numbers down,” she said this week.

“Continue with those control measures because when we do this we will allow us to continue to be able to do things and have in-person learning for our school district.”

Miller commended the Lincoln County School District for it’s recent decision to continue to require masks in school facilities.

“That is going to help a lot,” she said. “I encourage parents to go ahead and get their children vaccinated. Give that some thought. Just continue to do what we need to do in order for them to stay in school.”

Miller said the county has had so many cases that the LCHD has not been able to call people in a timely manner so the Kentucky Department of Public Health and local health providers have teamed together to send out information in the mail so that the public is aware of what to do if an individual tests positive for COVID-19.

“There’s a packet of information telling them the reason we went to the notification system and we gave information on what they need to do as far as isolation and quarantine,” Miller said. “If they have any questions or any doubt about what to do, they can call us.”

Miller said she appreciates all the partners that are helping the LCHD address the issue.