LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville Mayor Greg Ficher (D) said, if current trends hold, he hopes to begin Phase II of reopening the city in the coming weeks. While that is the goal, that timetable is not guaranteed.
The Mayor's office said the following three things are critical factors in moving to that next step:
- As we test more people, we need to see a decreasing percentage of new positive cases.
- We need to maintain sufficient capacity and supplies in our hospitals, including adequate workforce and PPE.
- Our Public Health Department needs to have adequate testing and contact tracing capability.
Here is what Mayor Greg Fischer outlines as the city's three-phase COVID-19 recovery plan:
- Phase I: This phase began before the arrival of the virus. It involved setting up the Incident Management Team, collecting actionable data, identifying challenges, developing contingency plans and executing strategies.
- Phase II: This phase, which could start in the coming weeks, is when the city will take the first steps towards reopening. That will happen once health experts and data make it clear it is safe to gradually ease some of the social distancing restrictions.
- Phase III: This phase is about restarting the city's economy. Mayor Fischer announced the "Build Back Better, Together" initiative as a roadmap to Louisville's economic recovery.
Mayor Fischer said we can only meet the criteria needed to move to the next phase if Kentuckians continue to social distance, wash hands, stay healthy at home and wear face coverings in public.