Whitley, Laurel counties report double-digit increases Thursday in new COVID-19 cases

Both Whitley and Laurel counties reported double-digit increases Thursday in the number of new COVID-19 cases.

The Whitley County Health Department announced Thursday that 19 new COVID-19 cases, which all tested positive with either a PCR/molecular or antigen test.

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

Whitley County now has a total of 121 COVID-19 cases, including 53 active cases. Four Whitley County residents are isolating in the hospital, and 49 Whitley County residents are isolating at home.

A total of 67 Whitley County patients have been released from isolation. On July 21, Whitley County reported its only COVID-19 death.

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 110 additional cases diagnosed.

So far, the majority of Whitley County cases have involved people ages 50 and under.

Out of the 121 Whitley County cases, 14 patients were under the age of 18, 10 patients were ages 18-20, 23 patients were ages 21-30, 24 patients were ages 31-40, 19 patients were ages 41-50, 14 patients were ages 51-60, nine patients were ages 61-70, and eight patients were age 71-80.

Laurel County

The Laurel County Health Department announced Thursday that 12 new COVID-19 cases had been reported, who ranged in age from a two-month-old to a 69-year-old. All 12 cases are recovering at home. The Laurel County Health Department also reported that it would have several recovered cases to report during Friday’s update.

Thursday’s cases include: a 26-year-old female, 44-year-old male, a 25-year-old female, a three-year-old female, a two-month-old male, a 51-year-old female, a 69-year-old male, a 22-year-old male, a 34-year-old female, a 32-year-old male, a 27-year-old female and a 28-year-old male.

The Laurel County Health Department reported 12 COVID-19 cases Wednesday, seven new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, five new cases Monday, five new cases Sunday, nine new cases Saturday, and seven new cases Friday.

Laurel County now has a total of 364 COVID-19 cases out of which 148 people have recovered. Laurel County has 212 active cases out of which 204 cases are isolating at home, and eight cases are isolating in the hospital.

Laurel County has had four COVID-19 related deaths.

Between March 24 and June 4, there were 22 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Laurel County. Since June 9, there have been an additional 342 cases reported there, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the 364 Laurel County cases, 41 patients were under the age of 18, 91 patients were ages 18-30, 61 patients were ages 31-40, 48 patients were ages 41-50, 48 patients were ages 51-60, 50 patients were ages 61-70, 16 patients were ages 71-80, and nine patients were over age 80.

A total of 8,094 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Laurel County as of July 27.

Knox County

The Knox County Health Department announced Thursday that eight new cases of COVID-19 had been reported including one case involving a child.

This brings the total number of cases in Knox County to 189.

The Knox County Health Department reported two new cases Tuesday, five new cases Monday, and 10 new cases Friday.

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 179 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Knox County.

The Knox County Health Department reported Monday that it had 84 active cases, and that 82 cases had recovered.

Knox County reported its eighth COVID-19 fatality on July 23, which was the eighth patient to die from Christian Health Center in Corbin. The first five patients had pre-existing conditions. The status of the last three is unknown.

Out of the first 174 Knox County cases, 17 patients were under the age of 18, 33 patients were ages 18-30, 25 patients were ages 31-40, 17 patients were ages 41-50, 16 patients were ages 51-60, 12 patients were ages 61-70, 21 patients were ages 71-80, and 33 patients were over age 80.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported seven additional cases Thursday bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 265.

Bell County now has 81 active cases, including seven, who are hospitalized: a 66-year-old male, a 95-year-old female, an 87-year-old female, and 83-year-old male, a 79-year-old female, a 72-year-old male, and a 70-year-old male.

On July 16, Bell County reported its first COVID-19 death, which was an 85-year-old male. Bell County reported its second COVID-19 fatality on July 23, which involved a 74-year-old female. On July 28, Bell County reported its third COVID-19 fatality, which involved a 68-year-old female.

The Bell County Health Department reported five additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday, four new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, 21 cases Monday, five COVID-19 cases Sunday, seven cases Saturday, and six new COVID-19 cases Friday.

A total of 184 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Bell County.

Bell County was one of the last counties in the state to report a positive COVID-19 case with its first positive case reported on May 16. Prior to June 29, Bell County had only reported eight positive COVID-19 cases, and since that time a total of 257 additional cases have been reported.

McCreary County

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department announced Thursday that three new COVID-19 cases had been reported in McCreary County, including two small children.

A two-year-old female, a three-year-old female, and a 62-year-old male make up the new McCreary County cases. All three are self-isolating and still symptomatic.

The Lake Cumberland Health Department also announced Thursday that two McCreary County patients had been released from isolation.

McCreary County has had a total of 31 COVID-19 cases, including eight active cases, who are all in self-isolation, and 23 cases that have all recovered.

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

Statewide cases

Gov. Andy Beshear reported 659 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, including 22 new cases involving children ages five and under. In addition, he reported seven new deaths Thursday.

Statewide there have been 29,386 total positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 731 total deaths from the virus. A total of 621,206 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and at least 7,590 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.

“Our cases are a little up from yesterday, but our positivity rate is down because we’ve had more tests,” said Beshear. “Once we get the virus under control, we have to keep it under control. We can’t stop. We can’t let up. Until we have that vaccine, we’ve got to do what it takes.”