FLATTENING THE CURVE Story by Bethany Sigler Recently, VIP got the chance to talk with Montgomery County Public Health Director Joey Smith. He has been exceptionally busy on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are very thankful for his time and insight. As a note, new information is coming out constantly. This is an unprecedented situation, and facts and reports are evolving every day. Montgomery County is blessed to have dedicated public servants like Joey Smith.
Joey Smith has also been nationally recognized for his efforts, talents, and accomplishments, and has been nominated for Vice President for the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).
and Smith has seen some frequently asked questions. He had this to say, “We started testing the first week of March and since then there have been some common questions. Some have been about communication with Tennova, Blanchfield and other clinical providers in our community. We’ve received a lot of questions about the COVID-19 tests.
“In Montgomery County, we have not overwhelmed our hospital and our rate of infection has been on the downward decline.”
COVID-19 is a novel virus. There is not a guide that tells us how to fight it, our essential workers are writing the playbook as they serve our communities every day. Everyone is unsure,
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The tests that we’ve been doing since early March detect if the person currently has the virus present in their body. Specimens are sent that day to a laboratory and we usually have results back in 3 days. With new tests being approved, urgent care and walk-in clinics could soon be offering a rapid test that will have results within 10-20 minutes.
As many may have seen on the news, an antibody test was recently approved by the FDA. We’re very excited about this. Along with giving a person some closure on a previous illness, studying the antibodies on people that successfully recovered could help develop therapy and treatment for others.” The 2020 hot topic has been masks: where we can get them, when we should wear them, how we can make them, and
