Chance of COVID-19 in Johnson County Increases Every Day

The Johnson County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), County Public Health, and the Johnson County Healthcare Center held a telephone conference with local media Friday afternoon to discuss the current situation with COVID-19 in the community.

They reported no cases of coronavirus in the county, but Dr. Mark Schueler said during Friday’s briefing the likelihood increases daily.

Dr. Schueler said he is forecasting about seven weeks to go before the coronavirus pandemic isn’t “first and foremost in our minds.”

He expects a ramping up of cases with a peak about three weeks from now, and then declining numbers of cases.

That is based on looking at other areas and timelines, he said, assuming that the local area’s reaction is similar.

He said people should look at major disruptions in their normal lives through mid-May as a realistic assumption, but said if we are lucky it may not be quite as disruptive as it could be.

As of Sunday afternoon, there were still no reported cases of coronavirus in Johnson County.