LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As COVID-19 cases rise in Jefferson County and across Kentucky, Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness is doubling down on compliance and enforcement activity across the city.

“We want our community to know we are taking it seriously. COVID is the primary concern that we have in our community that is affecting our public health right now,” said Environmental Health Manager Nick Hart.

Some of the expanded activity includes environmentalists quadrupling the amount of time spent surveilling peak operating hours during the evening, late-night, and weekend. Inspectors will observe businesses serving the public on a regular basis, and the businesses will not know who is conducting surveillance. If the inspector notes a violation, the business could receive a follow-up email or phone call.

In addition to those measures, Hart said Public Health and Wellness will publish a violation list online that includes businesses not complying with Healthy at Work or face-covering guidelines.

“We’re not trying to disrupt businesses, but we are trying to get a realistic idea of what it looks like during the times we see people out in our community,” he said.

Mayor Greg Fischer and Public Health and Wellness Director Dr. Sarah Moyer warned that extreme action is needed to stop the virus' spread.

“I want to make this clear: everyone in our community is at risk for catching COVID-19 or spreading it to your friends, family or coworkers if you let your guard down," Moyer said.

Fischer echoed her concerns.

“COVID-19 is a threat to our community, and it’s a threat that each of us need to take more seriously than we have been,” said Fischer. “We are in the ‘red zone’ again this week. As we look ahead to the holidays and family gatherings, we have to factor COVID-19 into our plans, or we are potentially putting ourselves and our families in serious danger.”

According to a press release from Public Health and Wellness, Jefferson County has surpassed 2,000 weekly COVID positive cases in the past two consecutive weeks.

Jefferson County remains a red zone with an incident rate of 44.3, meaning that for every 100,000 people, 44.3 have COVID-19, according to the most recent data from the Kentucky Department for Public Health.