Both Knox and Bell counties report additional COVID-19 fatalities Friday

Both Knox County and Bell County reported new COVID-19 fatalities Friday.

The Knox County Health Department reported five new COVID-19 cases Friday, including three cases involving children.

“We are also heartbroken to report one death today. It is always tragic to report any death. Our thoughts are with this family during this difficult time,” said Knox County Health Department Director Rebecca Rains.

This was Knox County’s 11^th COVID-19 fatality.

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

Knox County has a total of 365 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 355 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Knox County.

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.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported four new COVID-19 cases Friday, and one additional COVID-19 fatality, which was a 91-year-old man. This was Bell County’s 10^th COVID-19 fatality, which up until now had all ranged in age from 68-85.

The Bell County Health Department reported five new COVID-19 cases Thursday, 13 new cases Wednesday, one new case Tuesday, one new case Sunday, and one new case Saturday.

Bell County now has 84 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 77-year-old male, and a 66-year-old female.

Bell County has had a total of 387 COVID-19 cases, including 303 people, who have recovered.

McCreary County

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported six new COVID-19 cases in McCreary County Friday, which ranged in age from a five-year-old to a 73-year-old.

Friday’s new cases involve a 19-year-old male, a 15-year-old male, a five-year-old male, a 73-year-old male, and a 52-year-old male, who are all self-isolated but still symptomatic. Friday’s new McCreary County cases also include a 32-year-old male, who is self-isolated but asymptomatic.

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department also announced Friday that one additional McCreary County case had recovered.

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported four new COVID-19 cases in McCreary County Thursday, eight new cases in McCreary County Wednesday, three new cases in McCreary County Tuesday, nine new cases in McCreary County Monday, and three new cases in McCreary County Sunday.

McCreary County has had a total of 89 COVID-19 cases, including 36 active cases, one of which is hospitalized and the other 35 are self-isolated. 53 McCreary County cases are classified as not contagious or no longer isolated.

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

Laurel County

The Laurel County Health Department reported five new COVID-19 cases Friday, none of whom are hospitalized.

Friday’s new cases include: a 38-year-old female, a 30-year-old female, a 34-year-old male, a 39-year-old female, and a 68-year-old male.

The Laurel County Health Department also reported Friday that 62 additional cases had recovered.

The Laurel County Health Department reported 12 new cases Thursday, 15 new cases Wednesday, five new cases Tuesday, two new cases Monday, five new cases Sunday, and three new cases Saturday.

The Laurel County Health Department has reported a total of 542 cases, including: 421 recovered cases, and 116 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 520 cases reported there, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the 542 Laurel County cases, 62 patients were under the age of 18, 127 patients were ages 18-30, 93 patients were ages 31-40, 72 patients were ages 41-50, 82 patients were ages 51-60, 71 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 one new COVID-19 case Friday, six new cases Thursday, five new cases Wednesday, four new cases Tuesday, two new cases Monday, and two new cases Sunday.

Whitley County has had a total of 194 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 183 additional cases diagnosed.

Whitley County has 24 active cases, including five people isolated in the hospital, and 19 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.

Out of the 194 Whitley County cases, 22 patients were under the age of 18, 11 patients were ages 18-20, 39 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.

Statewide cases

On Friday, Gov. Andy Beshear reported 792 new COVID-19 cases, including 114 cases involving children under age 18, and eight new deaths.

“We still have a whole lot of cases in Kentucky which means a number of people get sick and we lose a number of people, too,” said Beshear. “The good news is our positivity rate continues to decline. If we keep wearing these masks and we keep doing the work, we can get this to a manageable level to get our kids back in school and get back to more of our old lives.”

Statewide there have been 46,757 total positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 918 total deaths from the virus. A total of 860,738 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and at least 10,266 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.