LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Health officials in Oldham County say some parents are trying to cheat the system so their child won't have to quarantine.
According to the Oldham County Health Department, some families are trying to find a loophole for reporting COVID test results, and the consequences could be "life-threatening."
"There's a lot of misinformation that's being shared and spread," said Matt Rhodes, director of the Oldham County Health Department. "(This was) so negligent and irresponsible that we needed to respond to it."
Rhodes is referring to a recent social media post in a Facebook group for Oldham County parents.
The post said: "I would encourage everyone who is testing their kids to STOP going to a provider and START doing at home COVID testing. Testing at a provider notifies the health department in the case of a positive result and quarantines occur ... Quarantines are too punitive to healthy kids and the parents need to take control of the situation."
"When we get those cases back, we have to take appropriate action to protect the community," said Rhodes. "In some cases people think that individual choice overrules the community benefit, and public health practitioners think just the opposite."
The post then links parents to buy at-home testing kits.
"It is very possible to get false negatives. You really want to go to a reputable testing site to get a more accurate result," said Dr. Mark Burns, an infectious disease specialist with U of L Health.
The CDC says the "gold standard" for COVID testing is the lab-based NAAT test, which detects genetic material of the virus. Burns said the at-home tests do not meet that criteria.
"If anything, testing needs to be more stringent, in my opinion," he said. "But its unfortunate people would try to circumvent the system."
The Oldham County Health Department posted a letter to its Facebook page addressing the spread of misinformation. The letter reads, in part, "While there is much misinformation circulating around social media and other communication platforms, this conversation is exceptionally dangerous and life threatening ...
"It is growing abundantly clear that many citizens do not fully understand public health principals, or the public health system that protects them in this great country."Â
To read the letter in full, click here.
Oldham County Schools released this statement to WDRB News:
"We implore our community to follow this guidance from the Oldham County Health Department. Student safety is our number one priority. In-person instruction is our second priority. Not following the recommendation of testing and reporting jeopardizes both."
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