Health officials express frustration as COVID-19 cases rise
JACKSON, Tenn. — “I don’t know when I’ve ever been as frustrated as a health care provider in my 37 years of nursing,” said Kim Tedford, Regional Director for the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department.
Approximately 970 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in just the last week.
“It has mutated and become so infectious and easily transmissible that people are getting sick quicker,” Tedford said.
And within the last 30 days, 266 kids under the age of 12 — ineligible for vaccines — have tested positive.
With the Jackson-Madison County School System making masks optional starting Monday Aug. 23, health officials are concerned about students’ safety.
“That does not follow guidance or recommendations from CDC. Parents, please, if your child has been identified as a contact to please quarantine them and monitor their symptoms. If they become symptomatic, please get them tested. I want to encourage parents to please send your children to school in a mask,” Tedford said.
The health department says they are trying to give mitigation strategies to help prevent the spread, but it’s hard to do so when people go against the recommendations.
“But people, we’ve been in this pandemic long enough that you know what you need to do. So please, we are begging from the medical community, just do it. Just do what we asked you to do,” Tedford said.
Health officials plead for Madison County residents to listen to the health experts and the health experts only.
“I’ve never in my life think something has become so politicized as this pandemic. And this is a public health crisis, it’s not a political issue. It’s a public health crisis and people have made it political,” Tedford said.
The Jackson-Madison County School System says their decision to return to masks optional, district-wide, was a result of Gov. Bill Lee’s Executive Order.
The school system says they will continue to work in tandem with the government and local health department.
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