Additional COVID-19 cases reported in Bell, Laurel and Whitley counties Wednesday

Bell, Laurel, and Whitley counties all reported additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday.

The Laurel County Health Department announced Wednesday that 12 new COVID-19 cases had been reported, who ranged in age from an 8-year-old to a 53-year-old. All 12 new cases are recovering at home.

Wednesday’s cases including: a 31-year-old female, a 53-year-old female, a 33-year-old male, a 53-year-old female, a 26-year-old male, a 53-year-old female, a 38-year-old female, a 12-year-old female, an 8-year-old male, a 10-year-old female, a 29-year-old female, and a 45-year-old female.

The Laurel County Health Department reported seven new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, five new cases Monday, five new cases Sunday, nine new cases Saturday, seven new cases Friday, and 18 new cases Thursday.

Laurel County now has a total of 352 COVID-19 cases out of which 148 people have recovered. Laurel County has 200 active cases out of which 192 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 330 cases reported there, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the 352 Laurel County cases, 39 patients were under the age of 18, 86 patients were ages 18-30, 59 patients were ages 31-40, 47 patients were ages 41-50, 47 patients were ages 51-60, 49 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.

Whitley County

The Whitley County Health Department announced Wednesday that it was reporting seven new COVID-19 cases that all tested positive with either a PCR/Molecular or antigen test.

The Whitley County Health Department reported six new cases Tuesday, five new cases Monday, four new cases Sunday, three new cases Friday, and four new cases Thursday.

Whitley County now has a total of 102 COVID-19 cases, including 34 active cases. Three Whitley County residents are isolating in the hospital, and 31 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 91 additional cases diagnosed.

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

Out of the 102 Whitley County cases, eight patients were under the age of 18, 10 patients were ages 18-20, 17 patients were ages 21-30, 23 patients were ages 31-40, 16 patients were ages 41-50, 12 patients were ages 51-60, nine patients were ages 61-70, and seven patients were age 71-80.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported five additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 258.

Bell County now has 108 active cases, including eight, who are hospitalized: a 71-year-old female, a 95-year-old female, an 87-year-old female, a 59-year-old female, a 79-year-old male, a 72-year-old male, a 70-year-old male and an 83-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 four new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, 21 cases Monday, five COVID-19 cases Sunday, seven cases Saturday, six new COVID-19 cases Friday, and eight new cases Thursday.

A total of 150 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 250 additional cases have been reported.

McCreary County

The Lake Cumberland Health Department reported no new cases Wednesday in McCreary County, and one additional COVID-19 case in McCreary County Tuesday, which is a 53-year-old male, who is self-isolating but still symptomatic.

The Lake Cumberland Health Department also announced Tuesday that one McCreary County patient had been released from isolation.

McCreary County has had a total of 28 COVID-19 cases, including seven active cases, who are all isolating at home, and 21 cases that have all recovered.

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

Knox County

The Knox County Health Department reported two news cases Tuesday, which brings the total number of cases in Knox County to 181.

The Knox County Health Department reported five new cases Monday, 10 new cases Friday, and four new cases Thursday.

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 171 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Knox County.

The Knox County Health Department reported Monday that it has 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.

Statewide cases

Gov. Andy Beshear reported 619 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, including 17 new cases involving children ages five and under. In addition, he reported five new deaths Wednesday.

Statewide there have been 28,727 total positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 724 total deaths from the virus. A total of 609,989 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and 7,495 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.

“It’s another day of tough news that we’re seeing across the country: whether it is Dr. Fauci warning that a number of states including us are poised for a significant outbreak, or high and even record-breaking numbers just to the south and all the way around us,” said Beshear. “That’s why we’re acting decisively. If we plateau again, it’s because of the hard work and willingness of people to wear facial coverings.”