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Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley took to Facebook on Thursday night in another Harlan County update, where he informed locals of four COVID-19 tests that are pending within the county. Mosley said although there have not been any confirmed case within the county lines as of now, “it’s everywhere and we better take this even more seriously each day.”

“Two more COVID-19 test results have came back negative today (Thursday), and we still have zero confirmed COVID-19 cases in Harlan County. There are still at least four tests pending at this time that we are aware of,” Mosley said.  “Social Distancing works in keeping this from spreading. Keep doing your part and please reduce any time you have to spend in public.”

Mosley also encouraged residents to follow the CDC’s guidelines and wear a face covering while out in public for essential supplies or where social distancing is difficult to maintain. Visit the CDC website for more information and a tutorial on how to make your own cloth face covering if you don’t already have one or https://bit.ly/2UJGpHR for instructions on how to make them.

He reminded shoppers that only one person per household are allowed inside a life-essential business at this time, which is now a statewide order. If you are aware of a business that is not doing so, report non-compliance to 1-833-KYSAFER.

“As we head into the Easter weekend, a special time of the year for our faith, let’s show even more compassion for our fellow human beings by doing all we can to protect our families, neighbors, and citizens of our home county. Like many of you, I miss going to church. My faith and yours is not defined by four walls of a building. It’s defined by our personal relationship with God,” Mosley said. “I appreciate the efforts of so many local pastors who have taken steps to do virtual services or drive-up services. This weekend a lot of those drive-up services are planned because of it being Easter. If your church is doing this, please make sure everyone stays in their vehicles for the duration of these services to protect everyone who comes together on this special day to worship.”

Mosley said in Hopkins County, 54 of the county’s 62 confirmed COVID-19 cases are tied to a church revival and six of those people have died as a result of the in-person gathering.

“God gave us a brain for a reason. I pray for God to give us all the wisdom to know what is right to protect us, our families and our communities. This could have happened anywhere in the state. I know a few churches have continued with in-person services here. It’s not wise folks. I couldn’t live with myself if I knew that I went somewhere I wasn’t supposed to go during a crisis, became a carrier of this virus, and then transmitted it to a sinner, and then that person die as a result of my recklessness. Could you live with that?”

Mosley asked people again to do not travel and stay healthy at home. While at home, Mosley encouraged Harlan Countians to complete their 2020 Census form.

“Harlan Countians have responded in a big way the last few days. Keep that up! We’re up 6 percent in responses since last weekend! This is so important! All federal funding and representation at the state and federal level is tied to population,” he said. “It’s so important that an accurate count is done and that’s where you come into play as well, just like in the fight against this coronavirus.”

Visit 2020census.gov for more information or to complete your questionnaire online.

“I had an opportunity today to participate in a conference call with the White House about the federal response to this pandemic concerning resources related to healthcare and the economy. All federal agencies are very tied into this response and are working diligently to push out financial resources to governments, small businesses, and citizens but also working to secure more ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and first responders,” Mosley said. “President Trump joined the call for several minutes and reiterated for us local officials to pass on to our constituents and colleagues at the local levels, to please continue to practice social distancing and asked everyone to understand and adhere to local, state, and federal guidelines so that we can get through this as quickly and safely as possible. He said we’re all doing tremendous working together.”

Mosley said his team has been working closely with the health department on many fronts, including gathering reliable data related to local testing. He added there are 10 different healthcare service locations capable of testing in Harlan County. There are now more than 30 labs in Kentucky running test results.

“I am thankful for this dedicated group of healthcare professionals. As I said Monday, I hope to be able to share data with you regarding testing later this week. I’ll forewarn you, get ready for a math lesson once I have all of the data because I want to be as transparent as possible and show you where our testing data compares with counties of our size throughout the state, but also a breakdown of how many tests have been done in two of Kentucky’s counties vs. the other 118 due to population.

“All providers have a criteria to go by to determine who shouldn’t and who should be tested. This criteria is being used nationwide. If everyone that wanted a test got one, we would be in serious trouble, because all of the tests would have been used up the first day. The ones who needed to be tested between now and a few weeks ago would not have been able to get one because the tests would have been wasted. As I told you yesterday, I’ve had several conversations with local physicians, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare staff over the last few weeks. I trust them. They’re the medical experts. You and I are not. Let’s trust them to do their job, to take care of us, respect their decisions, and pray for them as well. They live here, their families are here, they’re our neighbors, they go to church with us, and they want to see everyone protected too.”