On the Walking Dead, the zombie apocalypse came to Central Kentucky and the town of Cynthiana. The town of 6,400 people is the hometown of Sheriff Grimes in the comic book series. It’s also the home of Cynthiana natives Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore, who created the comic books and television series.
In the comic book, Sheriff Grimes wakes up from a coma in an empty Harrison Memorial Hospital to discover that zombies attacked his hometown of Cynthiana. Grimes struggles to get his bearings as he encounters zombies and realizes everyone is either dead, a zombie, or evacuated.
A 2016 mural in Cynthiana features Sheriff Rick Grimes; his son, Carl; Michonne; and Daryl Dixon. Drawing on the popular series’ popularity has helped boost the local economy. The town celebrated Walking Dead Day, hoping to put the town on the map.
Today, Cynthiana is in the Washington Post, appearing like a ghost town due to an outbreak of the coronavirus, or COVID-19. It’s the first confirmed outbreak of the virus in a Kentucky town.
Four cases of the virus were confirmed and caused businesses to shut down. The first case was a 27-year-old woman who decorates cakes at a Walmart Supercenter. Now, schools are closed, events are being called off, and churches are shutting their doors after two of the people with the virus attended the same church.
“Rumors and fears have swirled, with some people speculating that she became infected through baking supplies shipped from China. Officials keep trying to end such talk, stressing that there is no evidence that the virus can survive on surfaces for such long travel periods,” reported the Post.
Meanwhile, at Harrison Memorial, the staff is fastidiously cleaning everything. Several staff members were asked to self-quarantine after possible exposure to patients with coronavirus.
Hosptial CEO Sheila Currans told the local paper:
“We had to differentiate between who had close proximity exposure to the patient and who had a less close proximity to the patient,” Currans explained to the paper. “We had to determine the hallways the patient was in, the elevators that the patient used . . . every step along the way that the patient followed.”
Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency to ensure the state can fight off the virus. He has also issued an executive order to “waive copays, deductibles, cost-sharing and diagnostic testing fees for private and insurance and state employees,” according to Local12.
Featured image: Screenshot via YouTube