Laurel, Whitley, Bell and Knox counties all report double-digit increases in new COVID-19 cases Wednesday
Laurel, Whitley, Bell and Knox counties all reported double-digit increases in their number of new COVID-19 cases Wednesday.
The Laurel County Health Department reported 26 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, 11 new cases Tuesday, 41 new cases Monday, 15 new cases Sunday, 21 new cases Saturday, 15 new cases Friday, and 16 new cases Thursday.
None of Wednesday’s new cases come from a congregate setting, and three are hospitalized.
Wednesday’s new cases include: a 33-year-old female, a 53-year-old female, a 31-year-old male, a 49-year-old male, a 58-year-old female, a 68-year-old female, a 52-year-old male, a 61-year-old female, a 60-year-old female, a 68-year-old female, a 25-year-old female, a 26-year-old male, a 60-year-old male, a 20-year-old female, a 45-year-old female, a 31-year-old male, an 11-year-old male, a 51-year-old female, a nine-year-old female, a 19-year-old female, a 27-year-old male, a 25-year-old male, and a 26-year-old male. The following three cases were all reported Wednesday, and are all hospitalized, including: a 45-year-old male, a 34-year-old female, and an 81-year-old female.
The Laurel County Health Department has reported a total of 1,286 COVID-19 cases, including: 794 recovered cases, and 482 active cases, of which 19 are currently hospitalized. A total of 87 of the active cases occurred within congregate settings.
Laurel County has reported 10 COVID-19-related deaths with the two most recent deaths being reported on Oct. 13.
Out of the 1,286 Laurel County cases, 144 patients were under the age of 18, 245 patients were ages 18-30, 200 patients were ages 31-40, 186 patients were ages 41-50, 183 patients were ages 51-60, 160 patients were ages 61-70, 106 patients were ages 71-80 and 62 patients were over age 80.
A total of 21,292 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Laurel County as of Oct. 19.
Laurel County’s COVID–19 incidence rate is 30.5, placing it in the red category.
A county with a COVID-19 rate over 25 cases per 100,000 people is considered critical, which is signified on the state map with the color red. A county with a rate between 10-25 cases per 100,000 people is considered accelerated and is shown as orange on the state map. A county with 1-10 cases per 100,000 people is considered to have community spread and is signified on the state map with the color yellow. A county with less than one case per 100,000 people is considered on track and is signified by the color green on the state map.
The incidence rate for each county may be found online at www.kycovid19.com.
Whitley County
The Whitley County Health Department reported 18 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, 20 new cases Tuesday, 16 new cases Monday, 11 new cases Sunday, two new cases Saturday, 22 new cases Friday, and 15 new cases Thursday.
Whitley County has had a total of 776 COVID-19 cases.
Whitley County has 165 active cases, and 600 cases have been released from isolation.
Whitley County has had a total of 11 COVID-19 deaths with the most recent death having been reported on Oct. 20.
Out of the 776 Whitley County cases, 66 patients were under the age of 18, 74 patients were ages 18-20, 136 patients were ages 21-30, 100 patients were ages 31-40, 101 patients were ages 41-50, 98 patients were ages 51-60, 76 patients were ages 61-70, 63 patients were age 71-80, and 62 patients were over age 80.
Whitley County’s COVID–19 current case incidence rate is 34.7, which places it in the red category.
Bell County
The Bell County Health Department reported 15 new individual cases Wednesday, five new cases Tuesday, 17 new cases Monday, seven new cases Sunday, four new cases Saturday, four new cases Friday, and 11 new cases Thursday.
Bell County has had a total of 635 COVID-19 cases with two people currently hospitalized, which includes a 51-year-old female and a 59-year-old male.
Bell County currently has 70 active cases.
Bell County has reported a total of 21 COVID-19 deaths, which have all ranged in age from 62-97. The most recent death was reported on Oct. 15.
Bell County’s COVID–19 incidence rate is 28.5 placing it in the red category.
Knox County
The Knox County Health Department reported 14 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, including one case involving a child, seven new cases Tuesday, 29 new cases Monday, 19 new cases Friday, and 10 new cases Thursday.
“We have been notified that one of these cases are from a congregated setting. We encourage all community members to remember to use proper preventative measures at all times,” the Knox County Health Department wrote in a release about Wednesday’s new cases.
Knox County has had a total of 771 COVID-19 cases, including 187 active cases.
Knox County has had a total of 14 COVID-19 deaths with the three most recent deaths occurring on Oct. 14.
Knox County’s COVID–19 current incidence rate is 34.4 placing it in the red category.
McCreary County
The Lake Cumberland District Health Department has reported a total of 249 COVID-19 cases in McCreary County as of Oct. 20.
Currently there are 21 active McCreary County cases, which include one person, who is hospitalized, and the rest are in self-isolation. A total of 227 McCreary County cases are classified as not contagious, and there has been one McCreary County COVID-19 fatality.
McCreary County’s COVID–19 incidence rate Wednesday is 17.4 placing it in the orange category.
(Editor’s Note: The Lake Cumberland District Health Department, which McCreary County is a part of, typically doesn’t post updates on its cases until early to late evening. This is why the previous day’s totals are posted in this story.)
Statewide cases
On Wednesday, Gov. Andy Beshear reported 1,487 new COVID-19 cases, which includes 186 cases involving children ages 18 and under, and 21 new deaths.
Beshear noted that this is the second highest one-day total ever in terms of both new cases and new deaths in Kentucky.
Statewide there have been 90,996 positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 1,363 total deaths from the virus. A total of 1,837,416 coronavirus tests have been performed in Kentucky, and at least 17,534 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.