Oldham Co. Fair Board, Health Officials At Odds Concerning Contact Tracing After Fair Attendee Tests Positive For COVID-19

Oldham County Health Department is advising attendees to be tested only if you feel you could’ve gotten the virus during the time frame of the fair.

(Oldham County, Ky.) – The Oldham County Fair has been concluded for more than a week now, the county health department said one positive COVID-19 patient attended the event.

As of now, health officials are not clear if the patient was positive when attending, but it could be connected.

Despite the advice from the county and health department to halt the event, the fair went on. According to a report from WDRB, the fair board felt proper guidelines and safety measures were in place to protect those in attendance. The fair board, along with Kissel Entertainment, developed a plan that aligned with Gov. Beshear’s guidelines for events.

Upon the arrival of each attendee, contact information was taken, temperatures were taken, and masks and social distancing guidelines were put into place.

WDRB reported that the health department now wants the full list of people who came to the fair.

 "The purpose of that information is to verify what days and what times those people attended the fair so that if we did have a case, we could more closely manage and target those families who may be at an extreme risk versus knowing those who may be at a low risk," Oldham County Health Department Director Teresa Gamsky said.

However, the fair board is refusing to hand over that information at this time, according to a spokesperson.

"It's great that they're asking. It's great that they're being proactive," fair board spokesman Steve Heggie said. "But I see no basis to share that with them."

The board stated that they have no obligation to give over the information because the governor’s guidelines say it’s only required for an outbreak. The board is saying it wants to protect the private information of those who attended the event. According to Heggie, the health department planned to share the information with Trimble and Henry Counties.

Due to the refusal, the Oldham County Health Department is advising attendees to be tested only if you feel you could’ve gotten the virus during the time frame of the fair.