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

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

On Wednesday afternoon, the Whitley County Health Department reported two additional lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Whitley County residents. Since Monday a total of eight people have tested positive for the coronavirus.

These latest cases raise Whitley County’s total number of cases to 29.

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 18 additional cases diagnosed.

Currently there are 13 active cases in Whitley County with 12 people isolating at home, and one isolating in the hospital.

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

Out of the 29 Whitley County cases, one patient was under the age of 18, nine patients were ages 18-30, five patients were ages 31-40, four patients were ages 41-50, two patients were age 51-60, four patients were ages 61-70, and four patients were age 71-80.

Laurel County

The Laurel County Health Department announced Wednesday evening that there had been 11 new cases of the coronavirus reported, which ranged in age from a 3-month-old to a 70-year-old. This raises Laurel County’s total number of cases to 137 cases.

The new cases include: a 22-year-old male, a 19-year-old male, a 4-year-old male, a 64-year-old female, a 56-year-old male, a 57-year-old male, a 30-year-old female, a 70-year-old female, a 3-month-old male, a 14-year old male, and a 59-year-old female.

Laurel County has 84 active cases out of which 10 people are undergoing hospital isolation, and 74 are isolating at home.

Between March 24 and June 4, there were 22 COVID-19 cases diagnosed in Laurel County out of which 20 people recovered and two died. Since June 9, there have been an additional 115 cases reported there, including a third fatality, according to the Laurel County Health Department.

Out of the Laurel County cases, 12 patients were under the age of 18, 29 patients were ages 18-30, 25 patients were ages 31-40, 16 patients were ages 41-50, 17 patients were ages 51-60, 25 patients were ages 61-70, seven patients were age 71-80, and six patients were over age 80.

A total of 4,191 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Laurel County as of June 29.

Bell County

The Bell County Health Department reported its 10th and 11th COVID-19 cases Wednesday afternoon.

The health department’s release noted that additional details cannot be provided because of medical privacy laws.

On Monday, the Bell County Health Department reported its ninth total COVID-19 case noting it involved a 73-year-old male, who was hospitalized with underlying health conditions.

On Monday, the Bell County Health Department also reported that there were two other patients currently recovering at home, and that six patients had already fully recovered.

Bell County was one of the last counties in the state to report a positive COVID-19 case with its first positive COVID-19 case reported on May 16.

Knox County

About 10 p.m. Tuesday, the Knox County Health Department reported that three additional Knox County residents had tested positive for COVID-19, and about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday the health department reported that two additional Knox County residents had tested positive.

Last week it was reported that 47 patients at Christian Care Communities in Corbin tested positive for the virus in addition to several staff members. Wednesday evening the health department issued a clarification about that number.

“We originally reported 47 positive residents. There are only 46 residents currently positive for COVID-19. We would like to applaud Christian Health Care for all their dedication and hard work to protect their residents and employees during this time. This makes the current total number of positive COVID-19 cases for Knox County to be 75. We always want to be translucent and report any inaccuracy to the public. We are dedicated to our mission, to strive every day to protect the health of the community in every possible way,” said Knox County Health Department Director Rebecca Rains.

“The threat to the community is low. All epidemiological tracing and contact information have been conducted with these cases. Any close contacts will be notified by the Knox County Health Department.”

Between April 6 and May 30, Knox County only reported 10 COVID-19 cases with all 10 patients having fully recovered by June 15.

Other cases

The Lake Cumberland District Health Department reported McCreary County’s 18th COVID-19 case early Saturday evening. This was the county’s fifth case since June 20.

Currently there are two active McCreary County cases, who are all self-isolating.

McCreary County reported its 13th COVID-19 case on May 9, but the first 13 cases have all been released from isolation, according to the Lake Cumberland District Health Department.

Statewide, there have been 15,842 positive cases of the COVID-19 virus in Kentucky, and 572 deaths from the virus. At least 411,217 people in Kentucky have been tested for COVID-19, and 4,052 people have reported that they have recovered, according to the latest information on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s official COVID-19 website.