27 COVID-19 cases tied to Union College announced Thursday

Knox, Laurel, Whitley, Bell, and McCreary counties all reported new COVID-19 cases Thursday, including several associated with a Barbourville college.

The Knox County Health Department reported 35 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, including one child and a cluster of 27 positive cases associated with Union College.

“Knox County Health Department is working closely with administration to ensure all students and staff are following proper recommendations. The threat of exposure from Union’s campus to the community is extremely low. We do however encourage everyone to continue to follow proper preventive measures,” said Knox County Health Department Director of Health Rebecca Rains.

The Knox County Health Department reported two new cases Tuesday, eight new cases Monday, and seven new cases Friday.

Knox County has a total of 360 COVID-19 cases.

Between April 6 and May 30, Knox County reported 10 COVID-19 cases with all 10 patients having fully recovered by June 15. Since June 11, there have been 350 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Knox County.

The Knox County Health Department reported its 10^th COVID-19 fatality on Aug. 21.

Out of Knox County’s first 323 cases, 227 had recovered, and 86 cases were still active as of Aug. 25.

Out of the first 323 Knox County cases, 37 patients were under the age of 18, 64 patients were ages 18-30, 40 patients were ages 31-40, 45 patients were ages 41-50, 41 patients were ages 51-60, 26 patients were ages 61-70, 33 patients were ages 71-80, and 37 patients were over age 80.

As of Aug. 25, a total of 3,863 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Knox County.

Laurel County

The Laurel County Health Department reported 12 new cases Thursday, none of which are hospitalized.

Thursday’s new cases include: a 54-year-old male, a 54-year-old female, a 26-year-old male, a 59-year-old female, a 20-year-old female, a 34-year-old male, a 20-year-old male, a 60-year-old male, a 53-year-old female, a 65-year-old male, a 64-year-old female, and a 59-year-old female.

The Laurel County Health Department reported 15 new cases Wednesday, five new cases Tuesday, two new cases Monday, five new cases Sunday, three new cases Saturday, and four new cases Friday.

The Laurel County Health Department has reported a total of 537 cases, including: 359 recovered cases, and 173 active cases, of which 10 are currently hospitalized.

Laurel County has had five COVID-19 fatalities with the most recent death happening on Aug. 6.

Between March 24 and June 4, there were 22 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Laurel County. Since June 9, there have been an additional 515 cases reported there, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the 537 Laurel County cases, 62 patients were under the age of 18, 126 patients were ages 18-30, 90 patients were ages 31-40, 72 patients were ages 41-50, 82 patients were ages 51-60, 70 patients were ages 61-70, 25 patients were ages 71-80 and 10 patients were over age 80.

A total of 12,013 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Laurel County as of Aug. 24.

Whitley County

The Whitley County Health Department reported six new COVID-19 cases Thursday, five cases Wednesday, four cases Tuesday, two cases Monday, two cases Sunday, and two cases Friday.

Whitley County has had a total of 193 COVID-19 cases.

Between April 6 and May 17, Whitley County had 11 COVID-19 cases diagnosed, all of whom have been released from isolation. Since June 8, Whitley County has had 182 additional cases diagnosed.

Whitley County has 23 active cases, including five people isolated in the hospital, and 18 isolated at home. A total of 168 cases have been released from isolation.

Whitley County has reported a total of two COVID-19 deaths with the first happening on July 21, and the second happening on Aug. 20.

The Whitley County Health Department also announced Thursday that the Whitley County COVID-19 fatality that the governor reported Wednesday evening was not a new death, but the death that the health department had reported on Aug. 20.

“There was a delay in the reporting process to ensure the required documentation,” the health department wrote on its Facebook page Thursday.

Out of the 193 Whitley County cases, 22 patients were under the age of 18, 11 patients were ages 18-20, 38 patients were ages 21-30, 40 patients were ages 31-40, 24 patients were ages 41-50, 23 patients were ages 51-60, 14 patients were ages 61-70, 15 patients were age 71-80, and six patients were over age 80.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported five new COVID-19 cases Thursday, including one individual independent case and four long term cases.

The Bell County Health Department reported 13 new cases Wednesday, one new case Tuesday, one new case Sunday, one new case Saturday, and two new cases Friday.

Bell County now has 83 active cases, including six who are hospitalized: a 66-year-old male, a 62-year-old male, a 75-year-old male, a 59-year-old male, a 91-year-old male, and a 66-year-old female.

Bell County has had a total of 383 COVID-19 cases, including 300 people, who have recovered.

Bell County has reported nine COVID-19 deaths with the most recent death happening on Aug. 24. All of Bell County’s COVID-19 fatalities have involved patients ranging in age from 68-85.

McCreary County

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported four new COVID-19 cases in McCreary County Thursday, which ranged in age from an 18-year-old to a 73-year-old.

Thursday’s new cases include: a 73-year-old male, a 33-year-old female, a 39-year-old male, and an 18-year-old female, who are all self-isolated but still symptomatic.

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported eight new cases in McCreary Wednesday, three new cases in McCreary County Tuesday, nine new cases in McCreary County Monday, three new cases in McCreary County Sunday, and one new case in McCreary County Friday.

McCreary County has had a total of 83 COVID-19 cases, including 31 active cases, one of which is hospitalized and the other 30 are self-isolated. 52 McCreary County cases are classified as not contagious or no longer isolated.

So far, McCreary County has had no COVID-19 deaths.

Statewide cases

On Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear reported 775 new COVID-19 cases, including 130 cases involving children under age 18, and eight new deaths.

“We’re tracking again about what we’ve seen the last several weeks,” Beshear said. “Did you ever think we’d be to the point where 775 wouldn’t sound abnormal? It means that we do have to push to have fewer cases, but it does show that we are doing a lot of testing.”

Statewide there have been 45,978 total positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 910 total deaths from the virus. A total of 848,937 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and at least 9,731 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.